King Arthur and His Knights

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3 3433 082514642

V

AND

ELMDrORD

Q/vt^ux/L-t^ou^ ^Wc^-i-^sto

»T<

KA

King

Arthur

and his

Knights

of the

Kound

Table

sBiina Urtjiur

anti His 3K.nCgtit0

ac

By

^ / \

Instructor in English in the
University of Chicago

Illustrated by

Educational Publishers
CHICAGO NEW YORK LONDON

THE NEW YORK*

PUBLIC LIBRARY

332798B

.. loK. LliiNOX AND

TiLOLN FOUNDATIONS

K 1945 L

Copyrights 1905,

By MAUDE L. RADFORD

THIS reading-book is designed primarily for
pupils of the fifth and sixth grades,
although it is believed that those of other
grades can read it with profit. The stories have
been collected from Sir Thomas Malory's Morte
<r Arthur and Tennyson's Idyls of the King. The
material taken from the former source has been
chosen with the view of presenting strictly suit-
able reading, and has also at 'times been slightly
altered for the purpose of giving greater unity
and continuity to the stories. In the tales taken
from the Idyls of the King it has been necessary
to omit certain themes and motives, but the char-
acters have been treated in such a way as to pre-
serve, as far as possible, Tennyson's conception
of them. It is scarcely necessary to state that
the customs and manners described are not those
of the sixth century, the time of the Anglo-Saxon
invasion, but those of the chivalric age, the period
when the stories of Arthur were collected. So far

[5]

«^

Mm ^vtlauv

as there has been an attempt to retain the quaint-
ness of style found in the old sources, it has been
by means of simple constructions rather than by
the use of much archie diction. The aim of the
book is to give children an interest in the litera-
ture dealing with the great Celtic legend of King
Arthur, and to arouse their admiration for the
sturdy national virtues of which the English race
has always been proud.

anp I^i0 ^nJQfyt^ ^

T4BLE OF CONTENXX

PAGE

Preface 5

A List of Illustrations . . 8

How Arthur Became King 11

The Good Sword Excalibur 29

The Great Feast and What Followed . . .35
Arthur's Court and the Order of the Round Table 49

King Arthur and the Princess Guinevere ... 64

The Coming of Gareth 73

The Story of Sir Gareth and Lynette .... 85

Sir Ivaine - ... 99

Sir Balin 120

Sir Geraint and Enid 131

Arthur and Sir Accalon 142

How Arthur Fought with a Giant 153

How Arthur Fought with Rome 160

The Knight with the Badly Made Coat . . . .171

Sir Lancelot and Sir Brune 177

The Adventure of King Pellenore 193

Sir Lancelot and His Friends 199

How Sir Lancelot Saved the Queen 213

Sir Lancelot and Elaine 226

The Search for the Holy Grail 243

The Death of Arthur 260

A Pronouncing Index 269

Suggestions to Teachers 270

[7]

•^

Mn^ artl^ttr

M

AUSl 0F nxu^rMTiON^sl

PAGE

JCtn^ Arthur and his Knights of the Round

Table Frontispiece

^^All about him old oaks stood like giant guardians " . lo

*^ He hardly more than touched the sword ^ 25

Arthur and the Lady of the Lake 31

King Bors and King Ban 41

^^ Arthur saw Guinevere bending over the walV^ . . 65

*'Gareth rode at him fiercely'' 93

^'He dismounted and poured water into the fountain " . 105

*^^ They fought till their breath failed'' 129

'^King Arthur raising his hand for silence " . . 167

** The king touched him lightly with his sword" . . . 175

^^ He pushed him until he was but a step from the edge" 191

^^ He struck so fiercely the bottom fell out" 209

^^She staid near it all day long in the turret " . . . . 231

''^ And across it slowly moved the Holy Grail" ... 253

[8]

aim W^ ImiQfyt^ i

TO

DWIGHT AND ROGER

^ Mm^vtijuv

about him

old oaks

stood like

giant

guard'

atiD W» fenffil^tg B^

BECAME KW<^

ONCE upon a time, a thousand years
before Columbus discovered Amer-
ica, and when Rome was still the greatest
city in the world, there lived a brave and
beautiful youth whose name was Arthur.
His home was in England, near London;
and he lived with the good knight Sir
Hector, whom he always called father.

They dwelt in a great square castle of
gray stone, with a round tower at each
corner. It was built about a courtyard,
and was surrounded by a moat, across
which was a drawbridge that could be
raised or lowered. When it was raised
the castle was practically a little island
and very hard for eriejniea^to Attack.

[xx]

12 ^ Mm ^tti9uv

A^hur ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ moat was a large
Became wood, and here Arthur spent a great deal
^^^ of his time. He liked to lie under the
trees and gaze up at the blue of the sky.
All about him old oaks stood like giant
guardians watching sturdily over the soil
where they had grown for centuries.
Arthur could look between the trunks
and see rabbits and squirrels whisking
about. Sometimes a herd of brown deer
with shy dark eyes would pass, holding
their graceful heads high in the air; some-
times a flock of pheasants with brilliant
plumage rose from the bushes. Again
there was no sound except the tapping
of a bright-crested woodpecker, and no
motion but the fluttering of leaves and
the trembling of violets half buried in
green moss.

At times, when it was dim and silent
in the wood, Arthur would hear bursts of
merry laughter, the tinkling of bells, and
the jingling of spurs. Then he would
know that knights and ladies were rid-
ing down the road which ran beside the
trees. Soon the knights would appear on
horsesj brbtvn,''tilacl£;and white, with gaily

ornamented saddles, and bridles from ^^^^
which hung silver bells. Often the sad- Became
dies were made of ivory or ebony, set with ^^^
rubies or emeralds. The knights wore
helmets laced with slender gold chains,
and coats of mail made of tiny links of
steel, so fine and light that all together
hardly weighed more than a coat of cloth.
Usually the legs of the knights were
sheathed in steel armor; and their spurs
were steel, or even gold. The ladies sat on
horses with long trappings of silk, purple,
white, or scarlet, with ornamented saddles
and swinging bells. The robes of the ladies
were very beautiful, being made of velvet
or silk trimmed with ermine. Arthur
liked to watch them, flashing by; crim-
son, and gold, and blue, and rose-colored.
Better still, he liked to see the pretty
happy faces of the ladies, and hear their
gay voices. In those troublous times,
however, the roads were so insecure that
such companies did not often pass.

Sometimes the knights and ladies came
to visit Sir Hector. Then Arthur would
hurry from the forest to the castle.
Sir Hector would stand on the lowered

14 ^ Mn^ artl^ttt;

Arf^^r drawbridge to greet his guests, and would
Became lead them, with many expressions of pleas-
•^"^ ure, into the courtyard. Then he would
take a huge hammer hanging from a post,
and beat with it on a table which stood in
a corner of the courtyard. Immediately
from all parts of the castle the squires
and servants would come running to take
the horses of the knights and ladies. Sir
Hector's wife and daughters would then
appear, and with their own hands remove
the armor of the knights. They would
offer them golden basins of water, and
towels for washing, and o-fter that put
velvet mantles upon their shoulders.
Then th^ guests would be brought to the
supper table.

But Arthur did not spend all his time
dreaming in the woods or gazing at
knights and ladies. For many hours of
the day he practiced feats of arms in the
courtyard. It was the custom in England
to train boys of noble birth to be knights.
As soon as they were old enough they
were taught to ride. Later on, they lived
much among the ladies and maidens,
learning gentle manners. Under the

care of the knights, they learned to hunt, ^^^^^
to carry a lance properly, and to use the Became
sword; and having gained this skill, they ^^^
were made squires if they had shown
themselves to be of good character.

Then, day by day, the squires practiced
at the quintain. This was an upright
post, on the top of which turned a cross-
piece, having on one end a broad board,
and on the other a bag of sand. The ob-
ject was to ride up at full gallop, strike
the board with a long lance, and get
away without being hit by the sand bag.

Besides this, the squires had services
to do for the knights, in order that
they might learn to be useful in as many
ways as possible, and to be always hum-
ble. For instance, they took care of the
armor of the knights, carried letters and
messages for them, accompanied them at
joustings and tournaments, being ready
with extra weapons or assistance ; and in
the castle they helped to serve the guests
at table. After months of such service,
they went through a beautiful ceremony
and were made knights. In the country
round about, Arthur, of all the squires,

i6 ^ Mng 9ivtT9uv

A^hur ^^^ ^^ most famous for his skill in the
Became use of the lance and the sword, for his
^^^ keenness in the hunt, and for his cour-
tesy to all people.

Now, at this time there was no ruler in
England. The powerful Uther of Wales,
who had governed England, was dead,
and all the strong lords of the country
were struggling to be king in his place.
This gave rise to a great deal of quarrel-
ing and bloodshed.

There was in the land a wise magician
named Merlin. He was so old that his
beard was as white as snow, but his eyes
were as clear as a little child's. He was
very sorry to see all the fighting that was
going on, because he feared that it would
do serious harm to the kingdom.

In those days the great and good men
who ruled in the church had power almost
equal to that of the monarch. The kings
and the great lords listened to their ad-
vice, and gave them much land, and
money for themselves and for the poor.
So Merlin went to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the churchman who in all
England was the most beloved, and said:

**Sir, it is my advice that you send to ^^^^^
all the great lords of the realm and bid Became
them come to London by Christmas to ^^"^
choose a king."

The archbishop did as Merlin advised,
and at Christmas all the great lords came
to London. The largest church in the
city stood not far from the north bank of
the Thames. A churchyard surrounded
it, filled with yew trees, the trunks of
which were knotted with age. The power-
ful lords rode up in their clanking armor
to the gate, where they dismounted, and
giving their horses into the care of their
squires, reverently entered the church.

There were so many of them that they
quite filled the nave and side-aisles of
the building. The good archbishop, from
where he stood in the chancel, looked
down on them all. Just behind him was
the altar covered with a cloth of crimson
and gold, and surmounted by a golden
crucifix and ten burning candles. In
front of him, kneeling under the gray
arches which spanned the church, were
the greatest men in the kingdom. He
looked at their stem bronzed faces, their

i8 ^ Mm ^Vt^jUV

Arthur ^^^^7 l^^ards, their broad shoulders, and
Became their glittering armor, and prayed God to
^^^ make the best man in the land king.

Then began the service. At the close
of the first prayer some of the knights
looked out of the window, and there in
the churchyard they saw a great square
stone. In the middle of it was an anvil
of steel a foot high, and fixed therein was
a beautiful sword. On the sword was
some writing set in with gold which said :

'^Whosoever pulls this sword out of
this stone and anvil is the real king of
all England."

The knights who read this told the
archbishop, but he said :

** I command you all to keep within the
church and still pray to God. No man is
to touch the sword until all the prayers
are said.''

After the service was over, the lords
went into the churchyard. They each
pulled at the sword, but none could stir it.

*'The king is not here/' said the arch-
bishop, * ' but God will make him known.
Meantime, let ten good knights keep
watch over this sword."

atin ^i^ fenlQi^tg ^ 19

The knights were soon chosen, and ^^^^^
then the archbishop said that on a fixed Became
day every man in the kingdom should ^^^
try to pull the sword out of the anvil. He
ordered that on New Year's day all the
people should be brought together for a
great tournament to be held on the south
bank of the Thames, near London bridge.
After a few days spent in jousting among
the knights, each man should make the
trial to find out whether or not he was to
be king.

The brave youth Arthur did not know
of the contest that was to be made for the
sword. Sir Hector told him that he was
to go to a tournament, but he did not tell
him the reason for holding the tourna-
ment. So Arthur rode to London with
Sir Hector; and Sir Kay, who was Sir
Hector's oldest son, was with them.

Sir Hector and Sir Kay went soberly
in front. They were tall, stalwart men
and rode black horses, their dark figures
making shadows on the light snow ^hat
had fallen. Arthur, riding behind them,
felt exhilarated by the crisp winter air
which caused the blood to dance in his

20 <^ Mm ^tt}^uv

A^hur ^^i^s- Sometimes he stood up in his
Became saddle and flicked with his sword the dead
^^^ leaves on the oaks. Again he made his
horse crush the thin crust of ice that had
formed in tiny pools on the road. He
was so happy in the thought of the tour-
nament he was to see, that he could have
sung for joy.

The road was not very wide, for few
carts passed upon it, but it had been well
worn by riders. Sometimes it wound
through a bit of thick woods ; again it
rose up over a gently rolling hill. From
the hilltops the riders could see London
far in the distance. It looked at first like
a gray haze ; then, as the three came
nearer, the buildings, large and small,
grew plain to the sight. The castles and
huts, barns and sheds, smithies, shops and
mills, stood out in the keen sunlight. A
high wall surrounded them, while on one
side flowed the river Thames.

After they had entered the city, and
had passed the churchyard, and had
almost reached London bridge, Sir Kay
discovered that he had left his sword at
home.

aim l^tg iSitiigfyt^ ^ 21

'*Will you go back for it?" he asked ^^^^

Arthur. Becamif

''That I will," said Arthur, glad of the ^'""^
chance to ride longer in the delightful air.

But when he reached their dwelling,
he could not get in. The drawbridge was
raised, and he could not make the warden
hear his calling. Then Arthur was dis-
turbed, and said to himself:

' ' I will hasten to the churchyard we
passed, and take the beautiful sword
which I saw in the stone. It does not
seem to belong to anyone, and my brother
Kay must have a weapon."

So he rode on till he reached the
churchyard, dismounted, and tied his
horse to a sapling. The ten knights who
guarded the sword had gone away to see
the combats in the tournament. Arthur
ran up and pulled lightly but eagerly at
the sword. It came at once from the
anvil. He hurried to Sir Kay, who was
waiting for him on London bridge. Sir
Kay knew that the weapon was the one
that had been fixed fast in the stone, but
he said nothing to Arthur, and the two
soon overtook Sir Hector, who had ridden

22 ^ Mm ^ttl^ttt;

Ar^A^ slowly to the field where the tournament
Becami^ was taking place. Sir Kay immediately
'^^ told his father what had happened.

The good knight at once spoke with
great respect to Arthur.

**Sir/' he said, "you must be the king
of this land.'*

''What mean you, sir?'' asked Arthur.

Sir Hector told the wondering youth
the reason why he was destined to be
king. Then he said :

*'Can you put this sword back in its
place and pull it out again ?*'

** Easily,'' replied Arthur.

The three returned to the great stone,
and Arthur put back the sword. Sir
Hector tried to take it out, but failed.

''Now, you try," he said to Sir Kay.

But Sir Kay, in spite of great efforts,
also failed. Then Arthur, at Sir Hector's
bidding, tried, and at once pulled forth
the sword. At that Sir Hector and Sir
Kay knelt before Arthur.

"Alas," said Arthur, raising them from
the ground, ' ' my own dear father and my
brother, why do you kneel to me?"

"Nay, my lord Arthur," said Sir Hec-

King

tor, '*I am not your father. You are of ^^^^
higher blood than I am. Long ago, when ^fj^^
you were a little baby. Merlin brought
you to me to take care of, telling me that
you were to be the king."

* * Then whose son am I ? " cried Arthur.

"There are two stories: the one that
Merlin tells, and the one that old Bleys,
the master of Merlin, tells. Merlin
brought you to me, saying that you were
the son of King Uther and Ygueme his
wife. But because the king was dead
and the lords powerful and jealous, he
told me to guard you in secrecy lest your
life be taken. I did not know whether
the story was true or false then, but you
were a helpless child, and Merlin was a
wise sage, and so I took you and brought
you up as my own."

Arthur was so astonished that he did
not ask to hear the tale that Bleys told.
He stood gazing at Sir Hector, who said :

"And now, my gracious lord, will you
be good to me and mine when you are
king?'

' ' I will, indeed, " replied Arthur, * * for
I am more beholden to you than to any

24 ^ Mm ^ivt^iuv

Arthur ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ world, and also to my good

Became lady and foster mother, your wife, who

^^^ has reared me as if I were her own child.

If it be God's will that I shall sometime

become king, ask of me then what you

will."

'*Sir,'' said Sir Hector, ''I ask that you
make my son Sir Kay, your foster brother,
the steward of all your lands.''

'*That shall be done," said Arthur,
**and more. He shall have that office as
long as I live."

Then the three went to the Archbishop
of Canterbury and related to him the
story of Merlin and all that had occurred.
At his request they told no one else.

At the command of the archbishop
on Twelfth day, which is the sixth of
January, all the great lords assembled in
the churchyard. Each tried to draw forth
the sword, and each failed. Then the
untitled people came and tried. Every-
one failed until at last Arthur stepped
forward. He hardly more than touched
the sword when it came away in his hand.
At this many of the great lords were
angry.

and f^$ Mtd^m ^

26 ^ Mm 9ivtl9nv

^^^^^ * ^ He is but a boy/* they said, ' ' and not

Became oi high blood/'

i^g They refused to believe the story of
his birth told by Merlin and Sir Hector.
And because of all the quarreling, it was
decided to have another trial at Candle-
mas, which fell in the month of February.
Again Arthur was victorious. Then the
great lords decreed that there should be
another trial at Easter, and again Arthur
succeeded. Next they decided to have a
final trial at the feast of the Pentecost,
which fell in May.

Meanwhile, Merlin advised the arch-
bishop to see that Arthur had a body-
guard. So the archbishop selected sev-
eral knights whom the former king,
Uther, had trusted. These were Sir Ul-
fius and Sir Brastias and Sir Bedivere ;
Sir Geraint and Sir Hector and Sir Kay
were also chosen. These brave men
formed a bodyguard for Arthur until the
feast of the Pentecost.

At this time Arthur again drew out the
sword from the anvil. Then the common
people, who had so far let the lords have
their will, cried out:

ami l^g ftttjgi^tjg gp 27

"We will have Arthur for our king. ^^^^
and we will have no more delay, for we Becatm
see that it is God's will that he shall be '*^
our ruler."

Then all the people knelt down, high
and low, rich and poor, and begged Ar-
thur's pardon for the delay he had under-
gone. Arthur forgave them, and taking
his sword, reverently placed it on the great
altar beside which the archbishop stood.
This was a sign that he meant to dedicate
himself and his sword to God.

Afterward the crowning was held, and
all the brave men and fair ladies in the
land were present. The lords wore beau-
tiful robes of velvet and ermine, with
gold and jewels on their breast-plates.
The ladies' robes were of purple and
white and scarlet and gold and blue, and
they wore many pearls and rubies and
diamonds, so that all the place where
thej^ were assembled was glowing with
light and color.

But Arthur, who wore a plain white
robe, did not think of the beauty and
richness. He was very grave, knowing
that he was about to take a solemn oath.

28 ^ Mm ^vtwt

^^^^^ He bowed his head, while the archbishop
Became set upon it the golden crown, which
^^^ gleamed with jewels. Then he stood up
before his people, and vowed that he
would be a good king and always do jus-
tice. All the people uncovered their heads
and vowed to serve and obey him; and
when he smiled kindly on them as he rode
slowly through the throng, they threw up
their caps and shouted joyfully: ''Long
live King Arthur ! Long live the King !''
King Arthur chose worthy men for his
officers, making Sir Kay stewgird as he
had promised; Sir Ulfius he made cham-
berlain, and Sir Brastias warden. Arthur
gave offices also to Sir Hector and Sir
Bedivere and Sir Geraint.

After his crowning the king set about
righting all the wrongs that had been
done since the death of King Uther. He
gave back the lands and money that had
been taken from widows and orphans, and
would permit no unkindness to any of his
subjects. Thus, at the very beginning of
his reign, his people began to call him

anti W feirtgl^tg

Si>

GOOD SWOBD
EXCALIBTJIC

S^

' OON after the crown-
ing of King Ar-
thur, he was journeying
through the land with
Merlin, the wise old ma-
gician, when they met a
knight who challenged
Arthur to a combat. The two fought,
and at last the knight wounded Arthur
severely. In the end the king was vic-
torious, but he had lost so much blood
that he could go no farther. Merlin took
him to a good hermit who healed his
wound in three days. Then the king
departed with Merlin, and as they were
slowly riding along he said:

' ' I am still weak from the blood I have
lost, and my sword is broken/'

''Do not fear,'' said Merlin. ''You

30 -^ fetng artl^m:

r^^c;^^?^ shall lose no more blood and you shall

Sword "'

Ex- have a good sword. Ride on trustfully

calibur . , ^ , ,

With me.

They rode in silence until they came to
a lake, large and quiet, and as beautiful in
color as a pearl. While Arthur was look-
ing at its beauty, he became suddenly
aware of three tall women, with fair,
sweet faces, standing on the bank.

*' Who are they?" the king asked.

''Three queens who shall help you
at your worst need," answered Merlin.
'' Now look out upon the lake again."

Arthur turned his eyes upon the lake
and saw that in the distance a slight mist
had arisen. Through it the figure of a
lady glided over the surface of the water.
Her robe appeared to be made of waves
which streamed away in flowing curves
from her body. Her head and shoulders
seemed wrapped in foam tinted with the
colors of the rainbow, and her arms glit-
tered with sparkles which came from
bubbles of water. She was so wonderful
that Arthur looked at her for some time
before he asked softly :

''Who is she?"

am> 0te fenfefttg ;

32 ^ Mttg ^ttl^uv

^^swofd "S^^ ^^ *^^ ^^^y ^^ *^^ Lake." said
B^' Merlin. ' ' She lives in a rock in the mid-
dle of the lake. See, she is coming to-
ward us. Look at what is beyond her in
the water.''

Arthur looked and saw rising above
the surface of the water an arm clothed
in pure white. This arm held a huge
cross-hilted sword, so brilliant that Ar-
thur's eyes were dazzled.

When the Lady of the Lake ap-
proached nearer, he said :

' ' Damsel, what sword is that ? I wish
it were mine, for I have none."

The lady smiled, saying :

''Step into yonder boat, row to the
sword, and take it, together with the
scabbard."

So Arthur entered a little boat that was
tied to the shore, and rowed out to the
sword. As he took it and the scabbard,
all gleaming with jewels, the hand and
arm vanished into the water. And when
Arthur looked about, the three queens and
the Lady of the Lake were also gone.

As Arthur, still gazing at the sword,
rowed to shore; Merlin said to him :

anP !^(g ^nigW ^ 33

'*My lord Arthur, which pleases you ^:^^^^^
more, sword or scabbard?'' £^-

''In truth, the sword/' replied the
king.

''Let me assure you," said Merlin,
smiling gravely, ''that the scabbard is
worth ten of the sword. While you
have it with you you shall never lose
blood, no, no matter how sorely you are
wounded. So see that you guard it
well."

The king, who was looking at the
sword, sighed.

"There is writing on the sword," he
said.

"True, my lord, written in the oldest
tongue in the world."

''Take me on one side," said iVrthur,
' ' and Cast me away on the other. I am
glad to take the sword, but it saddens me
to think of casting it away."

Merlin's face grew sad, too. He was
so wise that he knew what was going to
happen in the future, and he was well
wsrare that when the time came to cast
bo\ sword away, much evil would have

^llen the good King Arthur. But he

34

^ Mm artl^m:

'^^Sword ^^^^ t^^t t^^ time was yet very far oflf ;
:£"^- so he said:

' ' You have taken the sword. Now use
it to make justice and right prevail in all
the land. Do not think of casting it away
until you must.*'

Arthur grew joyful again as he felt the
strength of the good sword in his hand,
and the two rode cheerfully forward
through the country.

.-rd,

rnin tig fetrtfii^tg s

WHACr rOLLOWCO

w^'

ALTHOUGH Arthur had been
crowned king, he was by no means
sure that all the nobles of the land would
accept him as ruler. In accordance with
the custom of the time, he gave a feast
in order to find out who were his friends
and who his enemies. All who came to
the feast would, he supposed, consent to
be his followers.

He chose the largest hall in London,
. and had the walls hung with rich cloths.
Upon the floor, strewn with rushes, were
placed trestles, and across these, boards
were laid. Upon them fine white linen
was spread, and golden saltcellars, wine-
bowls, and water- jugs set about.

When the guests assembled there were
[35]

36 ^ Mm artl^m:

G^a^f SO many that Arthur was delighted, for

Feasf he thought they were all his friends. He

jvAat sat at the head of one table, and Sir Hec-
Fo//owed ^^^ g^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^£ ^^^ ^^j^^^^ Arthur

wore a gold crown on his head, but it was
no brighter than his hair, and the blue
turquoises with which it was set were no
bluer than his eyes. From his shoulders
to the ground hung a magnificent red robe
with gold dragons embroidered upon it.
The cooks and squires came in from
the kitchen carrying food, their ruddy
faces beaming from the heat of the fires.
First of all, sixty boars* heads were borne
in on silver platters. Then followed, on
golden dishes, peacocks and plovers
which had been so skillfully cooked that
their bright colors were preserved. After
the guests had eaten all they cared for of
this food, tiny roasted pigs were brought
in, and set on all fours upon the tables.
By this time, all the gold and silver gob-
lets which had been filled with wine
needed refilling. Then the squires car-
ried in beautiful white swans on silver
platters, and roasted cranes and curlews
on plates that glowed like the sun. After

Followed

atiD !^(g fenigl^tg g;^ 37

that came rabbits stewed in sweet sauce, ^^^^^
and hams and curries. The last course ^^^ft
consisted of tarts and preserves, dates and what
figs and pomegranates.

The supper began about five o'clock,
and the guests ate and drank far into the
night. Although it was past Easter time,
the weather was a little cold, and so upon
the stone flagging between the two long
tables the king ordered fires to be lighted.
The bright flames darted up, flashing on
the gold threads woven in the hangings
of the walls, and on the steel armor of
the lords, and gleaming on the jewels set
in the gold and silver goblets which the
squires were carrying about. At one side
sat a band of musicians singing of the
glories of King Arthur and his ancestors,
and accompanying themselves on their
harps.

After the guests had risen from the
tables and gone to their camps, Arthur
sent messengers to them with rich gifts
of horses and furs and gold. But most
of the lords received the messengers
scornfully.

' ' Take back these gifts to the beardless

38 '^ fetng artl^m:

cJ^at ^^y ^^^ ^^^ come of low blood/' they
Feast said ; ' ' we do not want them. We have
What come here to give him gifts of hard blows

Followed ^.^j^ ^^^ ^^^^ swords/'

The messengers were astonished to
hear these things spoken of their good
king. Nevertheless, they told Arthur
all that had been said to them. He sent
no answer back, but he called together
all the lords who he was sure were loyal
to him, and asked their advice. They
said to him :

'* We cannot give you advice, but we
can fight.''

'* You speak well, my lords," answered
Arthur, ''and I thank you for your cour-
age. Will you take the advice of Merlin ?
You know that he has done much for me,
and he is very wise."

The lords and barons answered that
they would do whatever Merlin advised.
When Merlin came to the council hall he
said:

**I warn you that your enemies are
very strong. They have added to their
numbers so that now you have against
you eleven mighty kings."

ami l^tg imiQfyt^ ^ 39

At this the lords looked dismayed. ^;^^^

' * Unless our lord Arthur has more men ^^^sf
than he can find in his own realm," said pvAa^
Merlin, ' * he will be overcome and slain. ^"^ ^^
Therefore I give you this counsel. There
are two brothers across the sea ; both are
monarchs and both very strong. One is
King Ban of Benwick, and the other is
King Bors of Gaul. Now these two have
an enemy, also a powerful ruler. There-
fore, send to the brothers, King Bors and
King Ban who are now both in Benwick,
and say to them that if they will help
Arthur in his war against the eleven
kings, Arthur will help them against
their common enemy. "

"That is very good counsel,'' said the
king and the lords.

So they chose Sir Ulfius and Sir Bras-
tias as messengers, and these two hur-
ried away, hopeful of success. When^ ,
they reached the town in Benwick where
King Bors and King Ban were, knights
came forth to receive them and to hear
their message. As soon as it was learned
from whom they had come they were led
into the presence of the brothers. Both

40 '^ feing artl^ttr

Gr^at ^^^^ very large men. King Bors was

Feast dark, and was dressed in black armor.

What King Ban was dark, too; the colors that

Followed j^^ wore on his shield were greep and

gold. He was the father of Sir Lancelot,

the knight who afterwards became the

most powerful of the followers of Arthur.

The two kings received Sir Ulfius and
Sir Brastias with much favor.

' 'Tell King Arthur, " they said, ' 'that we
will come to him as quickly as we can.*'

Then they gave splendid gifts to Sir
Ulfius and Sir Brastias, who hurried back
to Arthur with the mess,age.

In a short time King Bors and King
Ban arrived with ten thousand of their
' soldiers, and as Arthur had ten thousand,
they felt certain of victory. They went
into Wales, a country which Arthur s
followers knew well, and waited confi-
dently for the enemy.

The eleven kings collected a great host
of sixty thousand men, fifty thousand on
horseback and ten thousand on foot.
They marched towards the place where
Arthur was, and set up their camp near
a wood about a mile distant. When

anp m» imigW^

King
Bors ana
King
Ban

42 ^ Mm Strtl^ttg

^^^^^ Merlin knew this, he said to Arthur and

Feast the two kings:

ivAat ''This is my advice: Set upon your
Followed ^j^gjj3Ligg g^t midnight when they are un-
prepared, and then you will have the
advantage."

So Arthur and the two royal brothers
and the twenty thousand soldiers crept
up to where the eleven kings and their
men lay. They took a road circling
round the wood. Moving with great cau-
tion, they drew nearer and nearer until
they could see first the camp fires in a
circle around the white tents ; and then,
against the flashing flames, the dark
figures of the men who were keeping
guard. Sometimes they were afraid that
the noise they made would alarm their
enemies, but on account of a heavy wind-
storm, they were unheard. When his men
were quite near, Arthur gave the word
of command. The whole army uttered a
great shout, and ran forward in com-
panies upon their enemies. In a few
mintrtes they had knocked down most of
the tents, and killed many soldiers.

It was a dreadful thing to be attacked in

the dark without warning. But the eleven ^^^^^
kings were brave men, even though they ^^^s^
were so unjust to Arthur in trying to ivAa/
take his kingdom from him, and made a ^^^^^'^^^
good fight. Perhaps they would have
made a better one if they had known
how few the men were under Arthur.

Before day dawned, Merlin told Ar-
thur to draw back his troops. This he
did, leaving about ten thousand of the
enemy dead behind him. He, however,
had not lost very many men.

At daybreak Arthur and his followers
saw that the lay of the land could be used
to their advantage. Between them and
the enemy was a narrow road, bounded
on one side by a lake, and on the other
side by a dense wood. One part of this
wood, however, was thin enough to allow
men to hide in it.

''Now," said Merlin, ''let King Bors
and King Ban take their soldiers and hide
in the wood for a long time. Then, my
lord Arthur, stand up before the enemy
with your men."

"Why shall we do this?" asked Arthur.

"Because," said the wise old man,

44 ^ Mm ^vtWv

The * * when the eleven kings see how few in

Great ^

Feast number your troops are, they will let you

What proceed down the passage. They will

Followed ^j^.^j^ ^^^^ .f y^^ march close to them

they can overcome you. But you can fill
up this narrow road with more and more
men from the wood. Then the enemy
cannot surround you.*' .,

**That seems very good/' said Arthur.

**And at last," continued Merlin,
''when the eleven kings are weary, let
King Bors and King Ban come forth.
Then surely the courage of our enemies
will fail."

The plan was carried out. Arthur's
men marched down the passage. The
green wood was on one side, and on the
other was the lake, the water of which
was so clear that it reflected the bodies of
the soldiers with their shields and hel-
mets. The sun shone on their armor.
The little birds in the woods sang as
they passed. But the men were thinking
of nothing but the expected battle.

When they had come close to the
enemy, they saw the eleven kings all in
a row, mounted on big handsome horses.

ann l^g iBosi^W ^ 45

Their fifty thousand men were behind ^^^^
them. Suddenly these rode forward and J^^as/
the battle began. "ivAaf

It was a fierce fight. In a very short ^^^^^"'^^
time the field was covered with over-
thrown men and horses. Broken shields
and helmets lay on the ground, and many
of the knights who had been fighting on
horseback were unhorsed, and were fight-
ing on foot. Arthur galloped here and
there among his enemies, conquering
with his trusty sword all with whom
he fought. The woods and the water
rang with his sword strokes. The noise
drowned the sweet songs of the birds, but
still they sang, and flew about gaily, all
unaware of the grim death-struggle go-
ing on beneath them.

Finally the time arrived for bringing
forward King Bors and his men. The
great dark king went thundering down
upon his enemies. When the King of
Orkney saw him coming, he cried :

"Oh, we are in great danger! I see
King Bors, one of the best and bravest
kings in the worid, and he is helping our
enemy."

46 ^ Mm Strtl^ttg

Gret^t Then the other kings were astonished,
Feast for they did not know that Arthur had
iv^at sent outside his country for help.

Fo//owed . . g^^ ^^ ^. jj ggj^^ ^^ „ ^j^^y g^j^^ , , ^^

matter how powerful he is/'

While they were still fighting, but with
great loss of courage, they heard the loud
sounds made by the hoofs of other tramp-
ing horses, and King Ban rode down on
them, followed by his men. His black
brows were frowning, and his green and
gold colors glittered in the sun.

'*Alas, alas!'* cried the King of Orkney,
''now in truth are we lost, fox here is
another king, no less great than his
brother Bors. But we must neither flee
nor yield.''

The eleven kings, being agreed to this,
continued t^e battle, though so many of
their men were killed that the King of
Orkney wept. When he saw some of his
men running away, he wept still more,
for he thought it was better to die than
to be a coward.

Though they did not intend to run
away, the eleven kings thought it would
be wise to retreat to a little copse near by.

It was late and they were tired and wished J^^^^
to rest before fighting again. King Bors ^^^^^
and King Ban could not help admiring ivAat

.1 1 Followed

these rulers.

'*In truth/' said King Ban, **they are
the bravest men I ever saw. I would they
were your friends."

** Indeed, so would I,'* replied Arthur;
' * but I have no hope of that, for they are
determined to destroy me, and so we
must fight om."

At this moment Merlin rode up oh his
great black horse.

''Have you not done enough?" he cried
to Arthur. ''Of their sixty thousand
men there are left but fifteen thousand.
It is time to stop, I say. If you fight on,
they will win the day. The tide will
turn against you."

Arthur hesitated and Merlin said:

' ' The eleven kings have a great trouble
coming of which they are ignorant. The
Saracens have landed in their countries
to the number of over forty thousand
So your enemies will have so much fight-
ing to do that they will not attack you
again for three years."

48 ^ Mm ^vtljnv

^J^^^ Then Arthur was glad, for it had
Feast grieved him deeply to fight so long and
What to lose his good soldiers.
Followed . . ^^ ^.jj ggj^^ ^^ more, " he said.

*^That is well," replied Merlin. '* Now
give presents to your soldiers, for to-day
they have proved themselves equal to the
best fighters in the world."

''True, indeed!" exclaimed King Bors
and King Ban.

So Arthur gave gifts to his own men ;
and a great deal of gold to the brother
kings, both for themselves and for their
soldiers. And the two kings went home
rejoicing.

ai^JI^Jtoi^jJ^s:.

^- -fj ^^^ f^

AFTER Arthur had proved his prow-
. ess in his contest with the eleven
kings, he decided to establish his Court
and the Order of the Round Table. The
place he chose was the cit3^ of Camelot in
Wales, which had a good situation, being
built upon a hill. He called the wise
Merlin and ordered him to make a great
palace on the summit of the hill. Through
his powers of enchantment. Merlin was
able to do this verj" quickly, and within
a week the king and his personal attend-
ants were settled in the palace.

The main part consisted of a great
Assembly Hall built of white marble, the
roof of which seemed to be upheld b)"
pillars of green and red porphyry, and

4 [49]

50 ^ Mn^ artl^ttr

"^^cour/ ^^^ surmounted by magnificent towers.
and the The outside walls of the hall were covered
of 'the with beautiful rows of sculpture. The
rltfe lowest row represented wild beasts slay-
ing men. The second row represented
men slaying wild beasts. The third
represented warriors who were peaceful,
good men. The fourth showed men with
growing wings. Over all was a winged
statue with the face of Arthur. Merlin
meant to show by means of the first row
that formerly evil in men was greater
than good ; by the second that men began
to conquer the evil in themselves, which
in time caused them to become really
good, noble, and peace-loving men, as in
the third row. And finally, through the
refining influence of Good King Arthur
and his wise helpers, men would grow to
be almost as perfect as the angels.

The main doorway was in the shape
of an arch, upheld by pillars of dark yel-
low marble. The hall was lighted by
fourteen great windows, through which
the light streamed in soft colors upon the
marble floors. Between these windows,
and along the cornices, were beautiful

decorations. There were carvings in "^^^^^^'^
white marble of birds and beasts and g^^^^^
twining vines. There was mosaic work of the
of black and yellow and pink marble and Tabif
of lapis lazuli, as blue as a lake when
the clear sun shines full upon its surface.
Under the windows were many stone
shields, beneath each of which was the
name of a knight. Some shields were
blazoned with gold, some were carved,
and some were blank. The walls were
hung with beautiful tapestries which had
been woven by the ladies of the land for
Arthur's new palace. On each had been
pictured some episode from the life of
King Arthur; the drawing of the magic
sword from the anvil, the finding of the
good sword Excalibur, his deeds of jus-
tice and acts of kindness, and his many
battles and wars.

The two wings of the palace con-
tained the dining hall and_ kitchen and
the living apartments of all the members
of the court, who made their home with
the king. The dining hall was only a
little less beautiful than Arthur's great
Assembly Hall. The walls were hung

52 ^ Mm ^vtTauv

^"^ Court ^^^^ cloths of scarlet and gold. The

^7fd^^ deep fireplace was supported by four

o^ the bronze pillars. In the middle of the room

Tabfe Were long tables made of oak boards set

on ivory trestles. At a banquet the walls

were hung with garlands of flowers or

festoons of branches.

The great kitchen had stone walls and
stone flagging. The fireplace was so large
that there was room for a whole ox to be
roasted, and above hung cranes from
which half a dozen kettles could be sus-
pended, and pots of such a size that pigs
could be boiled whole in them. All about
the walls were cupboards. Some were
full of plates of wood, iron, steel, silver,
and gold, and flagons, cups, bowls, and
saltcellars of gold and silver. Others
were used for the storing of cold meats
and fruits. There were several tables
on which the cooked food was cut, and
benches upon which the cooks rested
when they were tired of serving the hun-
gry eaters.

Well might they have grown tired.

Supper, the most important meal of the
day, lasted from three until six, and often

ata> i^g tmlfi^ ^ 53

longer. But the cooks, and the little scul- q^^^'
lion boys who washed the pots and pans, and the
and the attendants who carried in the food oftiu
to the dining hall, all wore contentment -/a^u
and happiness on their faces as they
hurried about with their long blouses
tucked out of harm's way; for to serve
King Arthur and his guests was consid-
ered a real privilege.

The sleeping rooms were furnished
with chests, and chairs, and beds spread
with fine linen and with ermine-lined
covers. Hangings of various colors were
upon the walls. On the floors were strewn
rushes, and among them was thrown
mint which gave forth an agreeable odor-
After Arthur, his officers, and his serv-
ants had been in the palace a few days,
the king formally established his Court
He invited all the knights who cared to
do so to come with their families and
retinues and live with him. Some pre-
ferred to remain in their own castles, but
others gladly went to live with the king.
Soon all were comfortably settled.

The king s officers were very important
members of Arthur's court. First of these

54 ^ Mm sttti^ttg

"^^Cour^^ came the Archbishop of Canterbury, who
tf«^M^ held the highest place in the kind's
^tAe regard. It was his duty to conduct the
Tadfe church services for Arthur and his fol-
lowers, and to christen, marry, and bury
the people of Camelot. Next, Sir Ulfius
as chamberlain superintended the care of
the king's rooms. Sir Brastias, who was
warden, superintended the servants. Sir
Kay, who was steward, had charge of all
the food and the kitchen. Sir Hector, as
treasurer, took care of the king's gold
and rendered the accounts. Sir Geraint
managed all the tournaments and out-
door sports of the knights and squires.
There were other officers to help these,
and all did their work faithfully and lov-
ingly.

The knights whom Arthur chose to be
members of his Round Table were mostly
selected from these ofl&cers. As members
of this order there were one hundred
and fifty of the knights who had shown
themselves especially brave in battle and
who were devoted followers of the king.
Next to being king, the greatest honor
which could fall to a warrior was to be

anp f^g »w(sl^tg g=> 55

made a member of the Round Table, for ^j]^^^''*^
all who belonged to the order were dedi- andtk^
cated to the service of God and mankind, o/tk^
There is no glory greater than such a tJI^
dedication.

In his great hall Arthur had placed
a huge table, made round in shape so
that there should be neither head nor
foot, a higher place nor a lower place.
Arthur wished all who sat there to be
equals. These chosen knights were to
give him council in times of peace and
of war.

It was a solemn hour when the knights
took their places. The Archbishop of
Canterbury blessed them and their seats.
Then each one came to Arthur, who stood
at the top of the Assembly Hall, and did
him homage. Next they took their vows.
They promised to be brave and good,
never false, or mean, or cruel. If any-
one with whom they fought begged for
mercy, they would show him mercy.
And they vowed never to fight for a
wrong cause or for money. Each year
at the feast of the Pentecost they were
to repeat these vows.

56 ^ MnQ artl^ur

^^^court Other members of Arthur's Court
<^ndthe were old, brave knights who could no
of the longer fight, but who liked to be near
^Tabie the king and his warriors, and gave the
wisdom of age and experience to his
councils; young, ambitious, and promis-
ing knights who had had but little real
experience in battle; and faithful squires
who had had no real experience at all.
Boys from six to fourteen years were
pages. There were others who trans-
formed Arthur's Court to a place of grace
and beauty, — the mothers, wives, sisters,
and daughters of the warriors.

Although they did not help in the
councils of war, these ladies were of great
assistance in training the knights to be
tender and courteous. They taught the
little pages good manners and unselfish-
ness. They assisted the knights in re-
moving their armor when they came in
tired from riding or fighting. They sat
with Arthur and the knights in the even-
ing in the dining-hall, singing or playing
upon harps, or listening to the tales that
were told. When the knights were away
the ladies stayed in their own chambers,

hearing wise readings from the Arch- ^J^^/'^^
bishop of Canterbury, or other learned anJ/A^
men, listening to Meriin's words of wis- ^/>br
dom, and embroidering the beautiful j-^//
hangings and cushions which were to
adorn the palace.

It was a month before Arthur s Court
was established, and during that time the
city of Camelot was a scene of continual
merriment. The people of the place were
glad that the king had come, for that
meant much gain for them. Those of
them who did not live in the palace had
their houses or shops on the streets which
wound about the foot of the hill. Many
of the shops belonged to armorers, who
had armor of all sorts for any one who
would buy. They were glad in their
turn to buy the swords of famous knights
which had been used in great battles, for
such weapons they could always sell
again at a good price. These shop-
keepers and the servants and the squires
and the warriors all united to make the
city of Camelot a beautiful one, for the
sake of their king. The streets were kept
strewn with rushes and flowers. Rich

58 ^ Mm arti^ttt

^^cour/ awnings and silken draperies were hung
and the f rom the houses.
d'the All day long processions passed, made
rltfe up of the followers of all those lords
who gave allegiance to the king. They
carried the banners of their masters,
crimson, white, or scarlet, gold, silver, or
azure, making the streets glow with color.
The marching squires wore ornamented
blouses, drawn in at the waist, long
silk stockings, and shoes of embroidered
leather. The bowmen were dressed in
green kirtles, rather shorter than those of
the squires, and wore dark woolen hose ;
they carried their bows and arrows slung
across their shoulders. The servants
were dressed in much the same way,
except that their blouses were longer and
of various colors. Many knights rode in
the processions, their long plumes wav-
ing in the wind, their armor shining, and
their falcons perched upon their wrists.
All day long, too, bands of musicians
played on flutes and timbrels and tabors
and harps; bands of young men and
women sang songs in praise of the king ;
story-tellers went about relating old tales

anP l^(g iBMiQfytfi ^ 59

of famous heroes. The young men "^ll^^^
showed their strength by tumbling and ^«^'^
wrestling, and their grace by dancing; of the
the young women also danced. Tabu

The wise Merlin often passed along
the streets, walking silently among the
merry throngs of people. Sometimes the
little Dagonet danced at his side, Dagonet
the king's jester, a tiny man who made
merriment for the Court with his witty
sayings. He always wore a tight-fitting
red blouse and a peaked cap ornamented
with bells, and he carried a mock scepter
in the shape of a carved ivory stick.

Whenever Arthur appeared before his
people, church-bells were joyously rung
and trumpets were sounded. The king,
as he rode, distributed presents to the
poor people: — capes, coats, and mantles
of serge, and bushels of pence. In a
dining-hall at the palace, feasts for the
poor were held on those days, which were
also open for all the people who might
come.

When the weather was beautiful,
tables were placed on the sward outside
the palace, and those who cared to, ate

6o ^ Mm ^vtl^nv

"^^^court ^^der the shade of the trees, listening to
and the the music of the blackbirds, whose singing
of the was almost as loud as that of the chorus
^T^bfe of damsels who sang in the palace.
Every hour the servants carried in and
out great quarters of venison, roasted
pheasants and herons, and young hawks,
ducks, and geese, all on silver platters.
Curries and stews and tarts were innu-
merable. In the midst of the sward a
silver fountain had been set from which
flowed sweet wine. Even the great feasts
of the year, which were held at Christ-
mas, upon the day of the Passover, at
Pentecost, upon Ascension day, and upon
St. John's day, were not as wonderful as
these feasts, when the king held holiday
with his people.

On these days of merriment, when
the people were not eating or drinking
or marching in processions, they were
at the tournament field, watching the
combats. Here the best of Arthurs
knights, mounted on strong horses and
wearing heavy armor, were ranged on
two sides of the field. Behind each row
was a pavilion filled with ladies. Four

atiD l^(g ixtii^W ^ 6^

heralds stood ready to blow the trumpets "^lH^^^^

anc
On

' s
Court

which gave the signal for the combats, and the

Each herald wore crimson silk stock- of the
ings and crimson velvet kittles, tight at Tablf

the waist, and reaching half-way to the
knee.

When it was time to begin the heralds
blew the trumpets, the ladies bent over
eagerly, and the knights spurred their
horses forward, riding with their lances
in rest. In a moment clouds of dust
arose, circling up as high as the plumes
on the knights' helmets, and their lances
crashed against each other's shields.
Many of the lances broke. Sometimes
the shock of contact overthrew a knight.
But no one was hurt, for the good King
Arthur had ordered that the combats
should be friendly.

When the'jousting had lasted for sev-
eral hours, those knights who had shown
themselves the stronger, received prizes
from the ladies. The prizes were suits of
armor ornamented with gold, and swords
with jeweled hilts. The knight who, of
all, was the strongest, chose the lady
whom he considered most beautiful, and

62 ^ jfefng QivtWt

Arthur's crowned her "The Queen of Love and

Court -r. ,,

and the Beauty.
of the During the month of feasting, Arthur

^Tabfe made knights of some of the squires. A
young squire was first obliged to show his
skill in tilting at the quintain. Then his
father presented him with falcons and
sparrowhawks for hunting, and arms and
robes. He also gave robes and arms
to his son's companions, and, to their
mothers and sisters, furs and embroid-
ered robes, and belts of gold. Finally he
gave money to the singers and players,
and servants, and to the poor people of
Camelot.

At about sunset the young squire
went into the church, where the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury held a solemn serv-
ice. The youth took the armor which he
had chosen, and placed it on the floor in
front of the altar. He was then left alone,
and all night long he prayed fervently to
God to give him strength to be a noble
and true knight. In the morning the
king came to the church, attended by
his nobles and by the archbishop. The
squire laid his sword on the altar, thus

signifying his devotion to Christ and his ^^^^^^^^
determination to lead a holy life. King anJ/A^
Arthur bound the sword and spurs on the o/iA^
young man, and, taking Excalibur, he r^if
smote him lightly on the shoulder with
it, saying, "Be thou a true and faithful
knight."

Then the squire took a solemn oath to
protect all who were in distress, to do
right, to be a pure knight, and to have
faith in God. After that the Archbishop
of Canterbury preached a solemn sermon.

When the month of feasting and holi-
day was ended, the members of the Court
returned to their usual habits of life. The
Knights of the Round Table went forth
to right wrongs and to enforce the law.
All who were in distress came to the
king for help. And to the whole country
Arthur's Court was famous as a place
where unkindness was never done, and
where truth, justice, and love reigned.

^ Mm ^vti^nv

CARTHI]Ib9i.
PRINCESS
GmNEVEBC

AFTER Arthur had been established
. in his Court for some time, his
neighbor, Leodogran, the king of Came-
liard, asked him for help in a battle. To
this Arthur cheerfully consented, and
gathered his warrior men about him.

It chanced, as he and his men were
marching past the castle of Leodogran
to meet the enemy, the king's daughter,
Guinevere, who was the most beautiful
lady in all that land, stood on the castle
wall to watch her father's allies pass.
Now she did not know, of all the knights
who rode by, which was Arthur. Many
wore gold and jewels on their armor,
while the king's armor was plain.

But Arthur saw her bending over the
[64 1

anil l^(g iBOfigfyt^ ^

''Arthur
saw
Guin-
evere
bending
over tne
wair

66 ^ Mm ^vG^nt

Ar/hur ^^* ^^^ ^^^ slendet and graceful ; her
and the black hair fell in two long heavy braids

Princess 11111 1

Guin- over each shoulder ; her eyes were large
^'^^^^ and black. And Arthur felt a warm love
spring from his heart for her, and said
to himself :

*'If I win this battle for Leodogran, I
shall ask him to give me the princess
Guinevere for wife/'

His love for Guinevere made him fight
even more bravely than usual, and he
soon won the battle. After he had
returned to Camelot, he told his knights
that he wished to marry the princess.
They were very glad, because they, too,
had seen her and thought her the most
beautiful lady they had ever beheld.

Then Arthur said :

*'I will send my three good knights,
Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias and Sir
Bedivere, to King Leodogran to ask for
Guinevere.''

The three knights set forth gayly, feel-
ing certain that King Leodogran would
be glad to marry his daughter to their
great Arthur. When, however, they
came to the castle of Leodogran with

their request, the king hesitated. He 5^f«r
bade them wait for a little while in the ^/^
room adjoining his large hall. Then he g^"^
said to himself : . ^^''^

"Arthur has helped me, indeed. I
know, too, that he is powerful. But I
hear strange stories of his birth. There
are people who say that he is not a king's
son. However great he is, I cannot give
him my only daughter unless he is really
a true king, bom of royal blood."

He called the oldest knight in his king-
dom and said to him :

''Bo you know an3i:hing about Ar-
thurs birth?"

The old man looked very wise and
said:

** There are two men who do know;
the younger of them is twice as old as I
am. They are Merlin, and Bleys, the
master of Merlin. Ble} s has written
down the secret of Arthur s birth in a
book."

Then King Leodogran laughed a little
and said:

'*My friend, your words have not
helped me much. If Arthur had not

68 ^ Mm ^vtwt

Ar/hur ^^^^P^^ ^^ ^^ ^Y time of need more than
and the you have helped me now, I should have
Gum- been lost indeed. Go and call Sir Ulfius
^^^""^ and Sir Brastias and Sir Bedivere."

So the old man brought in the three
knights, and Leodogran said to them :

**I hear strange tales of your king's
birth. Some say that he is indeed the son
of the late King Uther, but others say
that he is the son of Sir Hector. Do you
believe that he is Uther^s son?"

They said *' Yes, '' and then told King
Leodogran that Sir Hector had brought
up King Arthur as his son, for fear that
those who wanted the throne would kill
the child ; and that Arthur was undoubt-
edly Uther s son.

Still King Leodogran could not make
up his mind. He bade the three lords
remain with him for a few days.

Meanwhile the beautiful Queen Belli-
cent came to the Court, and Leodogran
asked her advice.

* * Do you think Arthur is a great king ? "
he asked. **Will he always be great?"

**He is very great," said the queen.
**And all his people love him. Perhaps

an3> 1^ fen^^ sy 69

he has not many lords, but their deep love ^fjj^^
makes up for their small number/' oKdiiu

**That may be true," replied the king, g^"

"Besides that," added the queen, -they ^"^'
are good men. As you know, the Knights
of the Round Table are bound by vows
to be kind and true and merciful and
helpful"

"I have heard it." said the king.

"Moreover." went on Queen Bellicent,
"Arthur has powerful friends: Merlin,
the magician, and the Lady of the Lake,
who gave him his sword Excalibur, and
the three fair queens, who will help him
when he needs help most."

"Yes, yes," said King Leodogran. "if
all this is true. Arthur must prevail over
his enemies. But is he the son of King
Lather and Queen Ygueme ? You are the
daughter of Queen Ygueme by an earlier
marriage, and, therefore, Arthurs half-
sister if Arthur is really L ther s son. You
ought surely to know the truth."

Bellicent waited a little while, and
then said:

*• King Leodogran, I do not know what
the truth is. There are two stories: the

70 -^ feing attl^ur

y^/^l^f st^^y Merlin tells and the story Bleys

and the tells. Metlin says that Arthur is Uther s

Guin- son, and indeed I should like to believe

evere ^x >>

''But you are not .sure?'' asked the
king.

**I am not sure. For my mother
Yguerne was dark, and King Uther was
dark. Their hair and eyes were black
like mine. Yet Arthur's hair is as bright
as gold. Besides, there is the story of
old Bleys."

''What is his story?"

"He says that Uther died, weeping
because he had no heir. Then Bleys and
Merlin, who were present at his death,
passed together out of the castle. It was
a stormy night, and as they walked along
by the lake they were forced by the
roar of the tempest to look out upon the
waves, whipped by the wind.

"Suddenly they saw a ship on the
water. It had the shape of a winged
dragon. All over its decks stood a multi-
tude of people shining like gold. Then
the ship vanished, and a number of great
waves began to roll in towards shore.

an3> 1^ feirffi^ ^j' 71

The ninth of these waves seemed as large ^^^^
as half the sea. It was murmuring with ^uutjk^
strange voices and rippling with flames. Gm/m-
In the midst of the flames was a little '^^^
fair-haired baby who was borne to Mer-
lin's feet. Merlin stooped and picked it
up, and cried, 'The King! Here is an
heir for Uther !' This, King Leodogran,
is the story Bleys told me before he died."

King Leodogran wondered very much.
Then he said:

*'But did you not question Meriin
about this?"

• * Yes, " answered Queen Bellicent. * * I
asked him if this story of Bleys was true.
He would only answer me with a riddle."

As King Leodogran was still silent, she
Scdd:

*' Do not fear to give your daughter to
Arthur, for he will be the greatest king
the world has ever seen."

LecKiogran felt less doubtful. While
he was thinking, he fell asleep and had a
dream. He saw in his dream a field cov-
ered with mist and smoke, and a phantom
king standing in the cloud. He heard a
voice which said, ''This is not our king;

72 ^ Mm ^vtwv

J^/l^g this is not the son of Uther/' But sud-

and the denly the mist disappeared and the king

^Guin- stood out in heaven, crowned.

evere King Leodogran took this dream for a

good sign. He called the three knights,

Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias and Sir Bedi-

vere, and said to them :

' * Say to your king that I will give him
Guinevere for his wife."

So the three hastily returned to King
Arthur, who was overjoyed with their
message.

In the month of May he sent Sir Lance-
lot, the son of King Ban, for Guinevere.
When she came, the Archbishop of Can-
terbury married them. And he blessed
them and said that they, with the help of
the Knights of the Round Table, must
do much good for the land.

ann i^g fttrffi^tg s

[THECOMWCr

THE beautiful Queen Bellicent had
many sons, all of whom had gone
out in the world except the youngest.
His name was Gareth. His two brothers,
Gawain and Modred, were with the good
King Arthur, and Gareth longed to join
them. His mother, however, would not
let him go.

"You are not yet a man," she said.
"You are only a child. Stay a little
longer with me."

So Gareth stayed. One day he came
to his mother and said :

" Mother, may I tell you a story?"

"Gladly," she replied.

"Then, mother, once there was a
£73]

/

Conlin^ golden egg which a royal eagle had laid,
ofGareth away Up in a tree. It was so high up
that it could hardly be seen. But a
youth, who though poor was brave, saw
it, and longed for it. He knew that if he
could get it, it would bring wealth and
prosperity to him. So he tried to climb.
One who loved him stopped him, saying,
'You will fall and be killed if you try to
reach that height.' Therefore the poor
boy did not climb, and so did not fall ; biit
he pined away with longing till his heart
broke and he died.''

Queen Bellicent answered :

**If the person who held him back
had loved him, that person would have
climbed, and found the egg, and given it
to the youth."

''That could not be,'' said Gareth.
"Mother, suppose the egg were not gold,
but steel, the same steel that Arthur's
sword Excalibur is made of."

The queen grew pale, for she now un-
derstood his meaning.

But Gareth spoke on :

"Dear mother, the gold egg is the
glory to be won at Arthur's Court; I am

atiD !^(g JKnfgl^tg ^ 75

the poor youth, and you are the one who J^^^^.^
holds me back. Mother, let me go ! '' o/ Caret h

Then Bellicent wept, and she said:

' ' Oh, my son, do not leave me. You
love me more than Gawain and Modred.
You are all I have left in the world.''

But Gareth replied :

"Mother, I waste my strength here."

''No, no," she said. '' You shall hunt;
you shall follow the deer and the fox, and
so grow strong. Then I will find you
a beautiful wife, and we shall all live
together till I die.''

Gareth shook his head.

"No, mother. I do not want a wife
until I have proved myself to be a worthy
and brave knight. I wish to follow Ar-
thur, my good king and uncle."

' ' Perhaps he is not the true king and
your uncle," Bellicent said. "At least
wait a little till he has shown himself to
be the greatest kijig in the world. Stay
with me."

' ' Nay, mother, " he said. ' ' I must go. "

Then the queen thought of a plan
which she hoped would soon make him
willing to stay home.

76 -^ ifethg ^n^ut

com^n^ ''If I let you go, my son, you must
ofGareth make me a promise. The promise will
prove your love to me/'

''I will make a hundred promises,''
cried young Gareth, ' ' if you will only let
me go."

''Then," she said, "you must go in*
disguise to the court of Arthur. You
must hire yourself out as ^ kitchen boy.
You shall wash the pots and pans for a
whole year and tell no one that you are
the son of a queen."

Queen Bellicent was sure that Gareth
would not wish to make such a promise.
He was silent a long, long time. He had
hoped to take part at once with the
Knights of the Round Table in great
deeds. At last he said :

' ' I may be a kitchen boy and still be
noble in heart and mind. Besides, I can
look on at the tournaments. I shall see
King Arthur and Sir Lancelot and Sir
Kay. Yes, mother, I will go."

Queen Bellicent was very sad. All
the days before Gareth' s departure her
eyes followed him until he felt that he
could not bear to see her grieve longer.

aim l^g iMiQfytfi ^ 77

So in the middle of the night he rose ^^•
quietly and woke two of his faithful ofCareth
servants. They dressed themselves like
plowmen and started towards Camelot.

It was Easter time and the young grass
wais a bright green. The birds were be-
ginning their chirping, although it was
not yet light. As the dawn came, they
saw the early morning mist sweeping
over the mountain and forest near Ar-
thur s city of Camelot. Sometimes the
mist drew away add showed in the dis-
tance the towers gleaming like silver.

One of the servants said:

"Let us go no farther, my lord Gareth.
I am afraid. That is a fairy city."

The second said:

'* Yes, lord, let us turn back. I have
heard that Arthur is not the real king,
but a changeling brought from fairyland
in a great wave all flame. He has done
all his deeds with the help of Merlin's
enchantment."

The first one spoke again:

"Lord Gareth, that is no real city.
It is a vision."

But Geireth laughed and said:

78 ^ Mng artl^ur

TAe ' 'Arthur is real flesh and blood, a brave

Coming '

ofGareth man, and a just king. Gome with me
to the gate of his city, and do not be
afraid/'

When they reached the gate of the
city, they stared in amazement. It was
made of silver and mother-of-pearl. In
the center was carved the figure of the
Lady of the Lake, with her arms out-
stretched in the form of a cross. In one
hand she held a sword, and in the other
a censer. On both sides of her figure was
carved the story of the wars of King Ar-
thur. Above all were the figures of the
three queens who were to help Arthur in
time of need.

The three looked till their eyes were
dazzled. Then they heard a peal of music,
and the gate slowly opened. An old man
with a long gray beard came out to greet
them, and returning led them up past the
gardens and groves and roofs and towers
of Camelot to Arthur's great palace on
the summit of the hill.

Gareth hardly thought of the splendors
of the palace. He approached the arched
doorway of the Assembly Hall, thinking

ann l^ig ^nigW ^ 79

only as his heart beat quickly, that at ^^^^.^
last he was to see the good King Arthur. ofCareth
Even before he entered he heard the voice *
of the king. For it was one of the days
when Arthur was giving judgment to his
people.

The king sat on a throne made of gold
and ivory and ebony. On its arms and
back were carved great dragons. Arthur
wore a gold crown which was not brighter
than his own beautiful hair and beard.
His blue eyes were as calm and clear
as the sky in summer time. His trusty
knights stood about him on each side of
the throne. The tallest of these, who had
a worn, browned face, and piercing dark
eyes, under frowning brows, must be,
Gareth knew, the famous knight, Sir
Lancelot.

As Gareth entered, a widow came for-
ward and cried to Arthur :

''Hear me, oh, King! Your father.
King Uther, took away a field from my
husband, who is now dead. The king
promised us gold, but he gave us no gold,
nor would he return our field.'*

Then Arthur said :

8o ^ Mm ^ttti^ttt?

com^n^ ''Which would you rather have, the
ofGaretk gold ot the field?''

The woman wept, saying :

''Oh, King, my dead husband loved
the field. Give it back to me/'

''You shall have your field again,'' said
Arthur, ' ' and besides I will give you three
times the amount of gold it is worth to
pay you for the years King Uther had
it."

Gareth thought that Arthur was indeed
a just king. And while this was passing
through his mind, another widow came
forward and cried :

" Hear me, oh, King ! Heretofore you
have been my enemy. You killed my
husband with your own hands. It is
hard for me to ask justice or favor of you.
Yet I must. My husband's brother took
my son and had him slain, and has now
stolen his land. So I ask you for a knight
who will do battle and get my son's land
for me, and revenge me for his death."

Then a good knight stepped forward
and said :

' ' Sir King, I am her kinsman. Let me
do battle for her and right her wrongs."

But Sir Kay. Arthur s foster brother, Jl^ .

said : ofGaretk

**Lord Arthur, do not help a woman
who has called you her enemy in your
own hall."

**Sir Kay," replied Arthur, **I am here
to help all those who need help in my
land. This woman loved her lord, and
I killed him because he rebelled against
me. Let her kinsman go and do battle
against the man who has wronged her.
Bring him here, and I will judge him.
If he is guilty he shall suffer."

While Gareth was still listening to the
king s words, a messenger entered from
Mark, the king of Cornwall. He carried
a wonderful gold cloth which he laid at
Arthur s feet, saying :

'*My lord. King Mark sends you this
as a sign that he is your true friend."

But Arthur said :

''Take back the cloth. When I fight
with kings who are worthy men, after I
have conquered them I give them back
their lands, and make them my subject-
kings and Knights of the Round Table.
But Mark is not fit to be a king. He

82 ^ Ifedtg artl^ur

^ ^^ is cruel and false. I will not call him

Coming .

ofGareth friend.

The messenger stepped back in alarm.
Arthur said to him kindly :

*'It is not your fault that Mark is
unworthy. Stay in this city until you
are refreshed and then go back home in
safety.''

While the king judged other cases,
Gareth looked around the great hall.
Underneath the fourteen windows he saw
three rows of stone shields, and under
each shield was the name of a knight.
If a knight had done one great deed, there
was carving on his shield ; if he had done
two or more, there were gold markings.
If he had done none, the shield was blank.
Gareth saw that Sir Lancelot's shield
and Sir Kay's glittered with gold. He
looked for the shields of his brothers. Sir
Gawain and Sir Modred. Sir Gawain's
was marked with gold, but Sir Modred's
was blank.

Meanwhile, Arthur had judged all the
cases. Then Gareth came forward tim-
idly and said :

' * Lord King, you see my poor clothes ;

and l^g ^faxiqM ^ 83

give me leave to serve for twelve months ?*^ .

Coming

in your kitchen without telling my name. o/Garetk
After that I will fight."

"You are a fair youth," Arthur re-
plied, "and you deserve a better gift.
However, since this is all you ask, I will
put you imder the care of Sir Kay, who is
master of the kitchen."

Sir Kay looked at Gareth with scorn.

"This youth has come from some
place where he did not get enough to
eat," he said, "and so he thi^s of noth-
ing but food. Yet if he wants food, he
shall have it, provided he does his work
well."

Sir Lancelot, who stood near by, said:

"Sir Kay, you understand dogs and
horses well, but not men. Look at this
youth's face ; see his broad forehead and
honest eyes, and beautiful hands. I be-
lieve he is of noble birth, and you should
treat him well."

' ' Perhaps he is a traitor," Sir Kay said.
"Perhaps he will poison King Arthur's
food. Yet I believe he is too stupid to be
a traitor. If he were not stupid, or if he
were noble, he would have asked for a

84 -^ ifefhg artl^ur

coi^n^ different gift. He would have asked for
ofGareth a hoise and armor. Let him go to my
kitchen.''

So Gareth went to the kitchen. And
there he worked faithfully at hard tasks,
such as cutting wood and drawing water.
Sir Lancelot spoke to him kindly when-
ever he passed him, but Sir Kay was
always very strict and severe. Sometimes
Gareth grew discouraged and wished his
mother had not exacted such a promise of
him.

Whenever there was a tournament he
was happy. He liked to watch the horses
prancing, and the brave knights riding,
with the sun shining on their helmets and
lances. And he would say to himself:

'* Only wait till the twelve months have
passed, and then I shall ask King Arthur
to let me do some brave deed. Perhaps
some one will come to the hall and demand
to have a wrong righted. Then I shall beg
the king to let me do that act of justice/'

Such thoughts kept him cheerful. And
indeed, before many weeks, his chance
came for doing a great deed.

anp 1^(0 feirtfil^tggp

G

siomroFSiic

TH &LTNETTE

ARETH served in
the kitchen of the
king only one month, for his mother
became sorry for the promise she had
asked of him, and sent armor for him
to Arthur s Court, with a letter to the
king telling who the youth was. With
great joy Gareth then went to Arthur and
said:

''My lord, I can fight as well as my
brother Gawain. At home we have
proved it. Then make me a knight, — in
secret, for I do not want the other knights
to know my name. Make me a knight,
and give me permission to right the first
wrong that we hear of.''

The king said gravely:

"You know all that my knights must

promise?"

C85]

The ' ' Yes, my lord Arthur. I am willing

SirGareth tO promisC all/'

Zr«^//^ ' * I will make you my knight in secret,
since you wish it,'* Arthur said, ** except
that I must tell Sir Lancelot. He is my
dearest knight, and I keep no secrets
from him.'*

Gareth said that he should be glad to
have Sir Lancelot know. Accordingly the
king spoke to Sir Lancelot about Gareth.

'*I have promised him that he may
right the first wrong we hear of,'' said
Arthur, '*but as he has not yet proved
what he can do, I want you to take a
horse and follow him when he sets forth.
Cover up the great lions on your shield
so that he will not know who you are."
Sir Lancelot agreed. Then Gareth was
secretly made a knight.

That same day a beautiful young dam-
sel came into Arthur's hall. She had
cheeks as pink as apple blossoms, and
very sharp eyes.

*'Who are you, damsel?" asked the
king, *'and what do you need?"

'* My name is Lynette," she said, *'and
I am of noble blood. I need a knight to

anP pg HxniQfyt^^ 87

fight for my sister Lyonors, a lady, also £^^ .
noble, rich, and most beautiful." sirCareth

' ' Why must she have a knight ?" ques- Tynette
tioned Arthur.

' ' My lord King, she lives in Castle Per-
ilous. Around this castle a river circles
three times, and there are three passing-
places, one over each circle of the river.
Three knights, who are brothers, keep a
constant guard over these passing-places.
A fourth knight, also a brother, clad in
black armor, stands guard in front of my
sister s castle. We have never seen this
knight's face or heard his voice, but his
brothers tell us he is the most powerful
and daring knight in the world. All these
four keep my sister a prisoner."

''And why?"

' ' Because they want her to marry one
of them so that they can have her great
wealth. She refuses, but they say that
they will have their way. In the mean-
time, they demand that you send^ Sir
Lancelot to fight with them. They hope
to overthrow Sir Lancelot, thus proving
themselves the greatest warriors in the
land. But I believe that Sir Lancelot

88 ^ !fe(ttg ^mm

s^or^1?f ^^^Id overthrow them; therefore, I have
Sir Carina come fot him/*
Lyne/u Aithut remembered his promise to Sir
Gareth, and did not speak of Sir Lance-
lot, but asked:

''Tell me what these four knights,
your enemies, are like/'

''The three I have talked to are vain
and foolish knights, my lord,'' answered
the damsel. "They have no law, and
they acknowledge no king. Yet they are
very strong, and therefore am I come for
Sir Lancelot."

Then Sir Gareth rose up, crying:

"Sir King, give me this adventure."

At this. Sir Kay started up in anger,
but Gareth continued :

"My King, you know that I am but
your kitchen boy, yet I have grown so
strong on your meat and drink that' I can
overthrow an hundred such knights."

The king looked at him a moment, and
said:

"Go, then."

At this all the knights were amazed.
The damsel's face flushed with anger.

"Shame, King !" she cried. "I asked

you for your chief knight, and you give ^^ ,
me a kitchen boy ! " sir carfth

Then, before any one could prevent, Lynette
she ran from the hall, mounted her horse,
and rode out of the city gate. Gareth
followed, and at the doorway found a
noble war horse which the king had
ordered to be given him. Near by were
the two faithful servants who had fol-
lowed him from his mother s home. They
held his armor. Gareth put it on, seized
his lance and shield, jumped upon his
horse, and rode off joyfully.

Sir Kay, who was watching, said to
Sir Lancelot:

'' Why does the king send my kitchen
lad to fight ? I will go after the boy and
put him to his pots and pans again."

"Sir Kay, do not attempt to do that,"
said Sir Lancelot. '* Remember that the
king commanded him to go."

But Sir Kay leaped on his horse and
followed Gareth.

Meanwhile, Sir Gareth overtook the
damsel and said:

''Lady, I am to right your wrong.
Lead and I follow."

90 ^ jfeing Qitt^uv

story^f But she cried:
sirGareth **Go back ! I smell kitchen grease
Lynette when you are near. Go back! your mas-
ter has come for you/'

Gareth looked behind and saw that
Sir Kay was riding up to him. When
Sir Kay was within hearing distance, he
shouted :

''Come back with me to the kitchen/'

''I will not/' said Gareth.

Then Sir Kay rode fiercely at the
youth. Gareth, however, struck him from
his horse, and then turned to the damsel,
saying:

''Lead on; I follow."

She rode for a long time in silence,
with Gareth a few paces behind her. At
last she stopped and said :

"You have overthrown your master,
you kitchen boy, but I do not like you
any better for it. I still smell the kitchen
grease."

Sir Gareth said, very gently :

"You may speak to me as you will,
but I shall not leave you till I have righted
your wrong."

"Ah! "she said, scornfully, "you talk

like a noble knight, but you are not one," ^'^ ,
and she agcdn galloped in front of him. sir Gar ^th

Presently, as they passed a thick wood, %n€Ue
a man broke out of it and spoke to them:

**Help! help! they are drowning my
lord!"

'•Follow! I lead!" shouted Gareth to
the damsel, and rushed into the wood.
There he found six men trying to drown
a seventh. Gareth attacked them with
such vigor that they fled. When the
rescued man had recovered, he thanked
Gareth warmly.

"I am the lord of the castle yonder,"
he said, "and these are my enemies.
You came in time."

Then he begged Gareth and the lady
to stay all night in his castle. They
agreed, and he led the way. He took
them into his large hall and was about to
seat them side by side at a dining table.
But the damsel said in scorn:

"This is a kitchen boy, and I will not
sit by him."

The lord looked surprised. He took ;,

Gareth to another table and sat beside
him. After they had eaten, he S£iid:

92 ^ Mm ^tt^uv

sto^^of ''You may be a kitchen boy, or the
sirGareth daiHsel may be out of her mind, but
Lynetie whichevet is the case, you are a good
fighter and you have saved my life/*

The next morning Gareth and the
damsel set forth. They rode for a while
in silence, and then she said:

' ' Sir Kitchen Boy, although you are so
low, I should like to save your life. Soon
we are coming to one who will overthrow
you; so turn back.''

But Gareth refused. In a little while
they came to the first circle of the river.
The passing-place was spanned by a
bridge. On the farther side of the bridge
was a beautiful pavilion, draped in silk
of gold and crimson colors. In front of
it passed a warrior without armor.

* ' Damsel, '' he cried, ' ' is this the knight
you have brought from Arthur's Court to
fight with me?"

''Ah!" she said, ''the king scorns you
so much that he has sent a kitchen boy
to fight with you. Take care that he
does not fall on you before you are
armed, for he is a knave."

The warrior went inside his tent for

aim i^ itirifi^tg s

''Gareth
rode
at him

fiercely^

94 ^ Mm ^ttt^UV

^, '^^^^ his armor, and the damsel said to

story of *

SirGareth Gareth:

Lynette ' ' Are y ou afraid ? "

'* Damsel/' he said, '*I am not afraid.
I would rather fight twenty times than
hear you speak so unkindly of me. Yet
your cruel words have put strength into
my arm. I shall fight well.''

Then the knight came forth all in
armor, and he said :

'* Youth, you are a kitchen boy. Go
back to your king; you are not fit to fight
with me."

Gareth rode at him fiercely, saying:

*'I am of nobler blood than you."

He fought so well that soon his enemy
was overcome. Then Gareth said:

'*Go to Arthur's Court and say that
his kitchen boy sent you."

When the knight had departed, Gareth
rode on, with the damsel in advance.
After a little while she stopped her horse,
and when he had caught up with her, she
said:

''Youth, I do not smell the kitchen
grease so much as I did. '

Then she galloped oflf, laughing over

n

attP 1^18 iuiigfytii ^ 95

her shoulder, while Gareth followed her, fj^ .

* ' S/arjr of

a little more slowly. sir Caret k

When they reached the second circle Lynette
of the river, the damsel said:

" Here is the brother of the knight you
overthrew. He is stronger than the first.
You had better go home, kitchen boy."

Gareth answered nothing. Out of the
tent by the bridge which crossed the
second circle of water, came a knight,
clad in armor which glowed like the sun.
Lynette shouted to him:

''I bring a kitchen boy who has over-
thrown your brother."

'*Ah!" shouted the knight, and rode
fiercely at Sir Gareth.

The two fought for a long time. The
warrior was strong, but Sir Gareth was
stronger, and at last overthrew him, and
sent him back to Arthur's Court.

The damsel Lynette had ridden far
ahead of him. When he came near her,
she said:

•'The knight's horse slipped, and that
is why you overcame him. And now
are you ready to fight with the third
knight, for there he stands?"

^ 96 ^ Mxfi^ arttfflt

^/o/^of ^^ ^^^ third and innermost circle of
^/^ Gareih the ri ver stood the third knight, clad not in
LynJtte armot, but in hardened skins. Sir Gareth
saw that he was more powerful than his
brothers. The two at once began to fight
on the bridge, but Sir Gareth' s sword
could not pierce the hard skins. Again
and again he tried and failed. He grew
tired, and began to fear that he should be
conquered. But all at once, when his
strokes were becoming feeble, Lynette
cried out to him:

'*Well done, good knight! You are
no kitchen boy, but a brave lord. Strike
for me ! Do not lose. You are worthy
to be a Knight of the Round Table. '*

When Sir Gareth heard this, he was
so encouraged that he made a final great
effort and threw his enemy over the bridge
into the water. Then he turned to Lynette,
saying:

'*Lead; I follow."

But Lynette, proud now of her valiant
escort, and humbled and ashamed at her
misjudging of him, said:

'*No, we shall ride side by side.
I am very sorry I called you a kitchen

ant> tig umi^W ^ 97

boy, for I know that you are a noble -^f^^^f

knight. ' ' ^^'^ Caret h

They rode happily side by side till Lynette
dusk, when they came in sight of Castle
Perilous. Just as they were about to
cross the moat, a knight overtook them.
It was Sir Lancelot, who had been delayed
because he had stopped to help Sir Kay
after Sir Gareth had thrown him from
his horse.

The great knight, as he rode up to
the two in the twilight, seeing only the
shields which Sir Gareth had taken from
the three knights, thought the young man
was an enemy, and attacked him. Sir
Lancelot was so strong that he soon over-
came the youth.

As he fell, Lynette cried out in shame
and sorrow, and Sir Gareth said :

**0h, lam thrown."

Sir Lancelot knew Sir Gareth's voice,
and raised him up, saying:

''I am Lancelot, and I am sorry to
have overthrown you, my friend.''

Sir Gareth said that it was no dishonor
to be beaten by Sir Lancelot. Then the
three rode into the castle, and there they

98 ^ Mm ^tti^nv

I sto^^of ^^* ^^ fourth knight, who was all cov-

Sir Caret h eted with black armor.
1 Lynette Sir Lancelot wished to fight with him,
but Sir Gareth would not permit it.

' ' This must be my adventure, *' he said.
Sir Gareth rode at the knight, expect-
ing to meet a very strong man, but he
easily unhorsed him. His enemy cried:
' 'Oh spare my life ; I am not a knight. '*
; Then he took oflf his helmet and showed

• the face of a young boy.»

' ' My three brothers made me pretend

to be a fierce knight,*' he explained.

; "They thought it would make people

more afraid if they believed we were

four strong knights.'*

Sir Lancelot and Sir Gareth laughed
heartily, and so did Lynette. They took
the boy into the castle, where Lynette's
sister, Lyonors, who was now freed from
her money -loving captors, greeted them
with much joy. She put before them a
great feast, and this time Sir Gareth and
Lynette sat side by side. Afterwards a
marriage was made between them, and
they went to live with King Arthur in
Camelot.

anP l^tg MniQfyt^ ^

AMONG Arthur's Knights of the Round
L Table was one who was a mixture
of good and bad, as indeed most people
are. His name was Sir Ivaine; brave,
kind-hearted, and merry ; but at the same
time fickle, sometimes forgetful of his
promises, and inclined to make light of
serious things.

One night, in the early spring, the
knights and ladies of Arthur's Court were
sitting in the dining-hall. The king and
Guinevere had withdrawn, but were ex-
pected to return. Supper had been served,
and the last course, consisting of pome-
granate seeds and dates, had just been
carried oflf. A fire had been built in the
deep hearth, and the four bronze pillars

in front were lighted by the flames. Four

[991 _

332793B

loo ^ IfettTg QitttiUV

ivJte little pages in blue and white velvet kit-
tles sat on stools watching the fire, and
perhaps dreaming of the days when they,
too, should be warriors and have adven-
tures.

Sir Ivaine was telling of his experience
with the Black Knight.

''It was when I was very young,'' he
said; ''indeed, I had -just been made a
knight. Some one told me of the wicked
Black Knight who lived, and still lives, in
a wood a long way from here. Knowing
that he did much evil, I determined to
kill him. I rode to the wood where he
lived, and in which I found a marble plat-
form. In the middle of it was a sunken
space holding a fountain. I walked to
this, and following the directions of some
writing which was on the stone, picked
up a cup that lay at hand, and filling it
with water, poured it into the fountain.

"Then a great storm of wind and rain
arose, and when it was at its height the
Black Knight rode up and began to attack
me. We fought for a little while, but
he easily overthrew me. Thinking me
dead, he rode back, leaving me on the

ground. But after a time I was able to j^^^-^
mount my horse, and went back to my
mother s castle."

At this moment the king and the
queen entered, unperceived by any one
except Sir Ivaine. The young man, who
was always polite, sprang to his feet;
then the other knights rose. Sir Kay,
who was not always sweet-tempered, said
to Sir Ivaine:

''We all know that you are very po-
lite, but you have more courtesy than
bravery."

At that Sir Ivaine said:

' ' I was almost a boy when the Black
Knight overthrew me, but I could con-
quer him now."

" It is very easy to say that after you
have eaten, " said Sir Kay. * ' Almost any
knight feels brave and self-satisfied when
he has had a good supper of venison."

The king asked what the conversation
was about, and Sir Ivaine repeated the
story of his adventure, adding:

''And, Sir King, I crave your permis-
sion to set forth to-morrow to slay this
Black Knight who is a pest in the land."

, ^/^ **I have heard of this man/' said the

Ivatne '

king, ''and have often thought of send-
ing some one to punish him. But he
lives far away, and it has been necessary
heretofore to right first the wrongs near-
est home. Yet now his evil deeds and
persecutions must cease. To-morrow a
company of us will set forth and conquer
him and all his people."

The king named some half-dozen of
his knights, Sir Ivaine among them, who
were to undertake this adventure.

Sir Ivaine was displeased ; he thought
that the adventure should be his alone.
So he rose. in the middle of the night and
stole away unattended, determined to
go in advance of the others and kill the
Black Knight. It did not occur to him
that in proving himself brave, he was
also proving himself disobedient.

He rode forth in the darkness, hum-
ming merrily to himself. At daybreak
he reached a valley, and as he went
through it, saw a great serpent fight-
ing with a lion. Sir Ivaine stopped to
watch this curious combat. At first the
two fighters seemed evenly matched, but

and f^n ftnig^tg ^ 103

soon the huge serpent wrapped all its ;^^^
folds about the lion and began squeezing
it to death. When Sir Ivaine saw this,
he drew his sword and killed the serpent.

When the lion was free, it bound^up
to Sir Ivaine, and he was afraid that it
meant to kill him; but it fawned at his
feet like a spanieL He stroked it, and
put his arms about its neck. When he
mounted his horse, the beast followed
him, refusing to go away. Then Sir
Ivaine made up his mind that they were
to be companions.

For many days the two kept close
together, and at night Sir Ivaine would
go to sleep with his head on the lion's
neck. One day, as they came to a square
castle set in a meadow, some people who
stood on the castle walls began to shoot
arrows at the lion, but Sir Ivaine stopped
them, telling them that the animal was
tame.

Then they told him that it was their
rule that no one should pass by that cas-
tle without doing battle with their lord.
Sir Ivaine told them that he was quite
willing to obey their rule; so they opened

I04 -^ i^dig gittl^tty

j^^f^^ the castle gate. They said he must make
his lion stay outside, but Sir Ivaine re-
fused to do this. He promised, however,
to make the lion lie down quietly; then
the two were allowed to enter.

The courtyard was a large paved place,
in which there were a score of armed
men. Presently the lord of the castle
came forward. This lord was much larger
than Sir Ivaine, and the lion, on seeing
him, began to lash its tail. But Sir Ivaine
ordered it to be still, and it at once obeyed.

Then Sir Ivaine and the knight battled
together. The knight was powerful, but
Sir Ivaine was very agile and skillful.
He was not able to strike so hard as could
his enemy, but he was better able to avoid
blows. Therefore it was not long before
he got the advantage and overthrew the
lord.

When this happened, the lord called
for help, and ordered his armed men to
kill Sir Ivaine. The whole twenty began
to obey this treacherous order, but just
as they were about to fall upon Sir Ivaine,
the lion bounded among them, roaring
savagely. With a few strokes of its pow-

attti "m fetrfg^tgs

and
poured
'water
into th£
foun-
tain^

uio6 ^ ixim ^Vt^jUV

ivatne ^^^^^ paws^it disabled the men. Sir Ivaine
^ told the lord of the castle that he must

ride to Camelot and give himself up to
Arthur to be judged for his treachery.
Then Sir Ivaine rode away from the cas-
tle ; and now that the lion had saved his
life, he became very fond of the animal.

After many days of travel, Sir Ivaine
reached the forest in the midst of which
was the castle of the Black Knight. He
rode to the platform of stone, dismounted
and poured water into the fountain. As
before, a storm arose, .and at its height
the Black Knight appeared.

He recognized the armor of Sir Ivaine,
and said:

''Aha! I see I did not kill you before,
but you shall not escape me this time."

''The best man shall win,'* said Sir
Ivaine, cheerfully.

Then the two began a great combat.
Their swords clashed so that the noise of
the fountain was drowned; they fought
so eagerly that they were not even aware
of the storm. It was not long before the
Black Knight began to grow weak from
the many powerful and death-dealing

strokes from Sir Ivaine's sword. At last. ;^^
seeing that he was mortally wounded, the
Black Knight turned his horse and gal-
loped in the direction of his castle.

Ordering the lion to stay where it had
lain during the combat, Sir Ivaine fol-
lowed. But he could not quite catch up
with the Black Knight, although gaining
on him inch by inch. By the time the
castle moat was reached. Sir Ivaine was
only five feet behind. The horses thun-
dered one after the other over the bridge.
The Black Knight rode under the portcul-
lis, or sharp iron gate, which was raised.
The instant he was inside, the portcullis
fell, in order to shut out Sir Ivaine. .

But Sir Ivaine had adready passed be-
neath it, and as it fell his horse was cut
in two. Even the long plume in Sir
Ivaine's helmet was shorn off, and lay out-
side the gate.

Sir Ivaine sprang to his feet and drew
his sword to renew his attack upon the
Black Knight, but he was already dead,
and lay across his panting horse's neck.

Then Sir Ivdine realized what his reck-
lessness had cost him. There he was.

io8 ^ Mng arti^ttr

. ^/^ alone in a strange castle, the lord of which
he had killed. Soon the people of the
castle would come and capture him, for
he could not escape, since the portcullis
was down.

He ran into the castle, and up the
stairs leading to the turret. He was fast
growing weak from the wounds he had re-
ceived, and his armor was heavy. More-
over, in spite of his care, it clashed at
every step, and he was afraid some one
would soon hear him. He had all but
reached the top of the stairs when the
door of the turret room opened, and a
little maiden looked down upon him. He
begged her not to cry out, and telling her
who he was and what he had done, asked
her to hide him.

**I will," she said, ** because you are
brave and you are wounded, and because
you have killed that wicked tyrant, the
Black Knight. He does not own this
castle at all; it belongs to a beautiful
lady, his cousin, who is my mistress. He
keeps her here a prisoner because she
will not marry him.*'

Then the little maiden led him into

and l^g ftirffil^tg g;- 109

^

the turret room. She concealed his armor f^^^
in a hole in the side of the wall, and told
him to hide himself between the two mat-
tresses of the bed. Before he had time to
do so, however, they heard a great noise
in the courtyard, and looking down, saw
that the body of the Black Knight had
been discovered. Near it stood a beauti-
ful lad3% more beautiful than any Sir
Ivaine had ever seen, except Queen Guin-
evere. She was dark like the queen, and
her eyes were as bright as stars. He
would have looked at her a long time,
but the little maiden begged him to hide
without delay.

' ' Quick ! " she cried. ' ' The men have
seen that there is the front part of a horse
inside the gate, and know that the person
who has killed our lord must be here.
Even now they have begun the search,
for they all love the Black Knight, al-
though my mistress does not, and they
will hang you if they find you."

So Sir Ivaine crept between the mat-
tresses, and the little maiden hurried
down the stairs and went to her beauti-
ful mistress. Presently Sir Ivaine heard

^

^^^^^^ men tramping up the turret steps. They
often stopped, trying all the doors they
came to, and at last entered the room in
which he lay. One of them, peering into
the hole in the wall where his armor was,
said:

'*Here is armor.'*

But another replied :

* ' That is some that once was used by
our master; there is no need to drag it
into the light.''

Then they searched among all the fur-
nishings of the room, but found no one.
At last, as they were leaving, one of the
men thrust his sword twice through the
mattress. The second thrust cut deeply
into Sir Ivaine's arm; but as the knight
was brave, he did not utter a cry.

When the men had gone, he crept out,
and found that the cut in his arm and
his other wounds were bleeding badly.
Just then the little maiden came in with
food. She cried out in alarm when she
saw. the blood, and quickly tore a piece of
linen from her robe for bandages. When
all the wounds had been carefully at-
tended to, she gave him a plentiful supper

atrtJI^lMM!^^

^

III

and promised to take care of him until j^^^-^^
there was a good opportunity for him to
escape.

She visited him every morning, and
told him the day's news in the castle. He
learned that a lion kept roaring about the
walls, and that the bowmen had tried to
kill it, butcould not. Sir Ivaine was sure
that it was his lion, and longed to have
it, but knew that this was impossible.
And she told him how the people of the
castle had been angry at their lady be-
cause she would not marry the Black
Knight; but now that he was dead, ac-
knowledged her as mistress and obeyed
her in everything. The little maiden said
she thought that if the lady were told that
Sir Ivaine was hidden she would probably
see that he had a safe conduct out of the
castle.

**I want never to leave this castle,'*
said Sir Ivaine; **for I love your lady.'*

This pleased the little maiden, for she
had learned to respect Sir Ivaine. So she
went to the lady of the castle and told
her all about the stranger. The lady had
Sir Ivaine moved to a rich apartment

^

112 <^ %ixv^ %xX}i\\xt

, ^/^ where she could visit him often and help
the little maid in her care of him. She
did not tell her people, however, that this
stranger knight had' killed their lord.

As Sir Ivaine recovered, he soon found
courage to tell her how beautiful she was,
and that he loved her more than anything
in the world. He said that if .she would
marry him, he would stay with her for-
ever, and never seek for more adventures.
All he asked was that she would let in
his lion, which still continued to roar out-
side the castle walls. When the lady
heard the story of the lion, it seemed to
her that if Sir Ivaine were so kind to
an animal, he would, probably be much
kinder to her.

So she said that she would marry him.
The people of the castle saw and liked
him, and agreed to obey him as their lord.
When they were told that the lion they
had tried to kill belonged to him and must
be admitted to the castle, they showed
some fear. Sir Ivaine told them that
there was no need of this, for the beast
was very gentle, and was making noise
only because of its desire for its master.

11

He went outside the castle walls and f"^ .
called. Soon there was heard a loud
roaring ; a big yellow body bounded out
of the forest, and the lion came leaping
to its master s feet. It frisked about him,
and rubbed its head on his arm, just as a
favorite dog might do. When the people
saw how tame it was, they were no longer
afraid.

Sir Ivaine and the beautiful lady were
soon married, and for a long time every
one was very happy. Sir Ivaine sent a
letter to King Arthur telling the result
of his adventure. Soon the messenger
returned bearing rich gifts from the king
and Guinevere, and an invitation to come
to Camelot whenever they wished to.
The lady, however, persuaded Sir Ivaine
to promise to remain with her in her
castle.

One day a party of the Knights of the
Round Table rode into the courtyard.
They were going on a great adventure,
and stopped by the way to see how Sir
Ivaine and his beautiful wife fared.
When Sir Ivaine saw them, all his old-
time love of fighting came back, and he

114 ^ Mm ^vtiiuv

/vJne ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ l^^y ^^d begged her to let
him go with the knights.

''Ah, my Ivaine," she said, ''you told
me that you would never leave me:'*

"A knight ought to seek adventures,'*
he said. "And I will return to you."

She paused for a while and then said :

"I will let you go if you will promise
to come back in a year and a day ; that
is, next Whitsuntide.'*

He gladly promised, and she said:

"If you break this promise, I will
never see you again."

But Sir Ivaine was sure he would not
break the promise, because he loved her
too much for that.

So oflF he rode with the knights, fol-
lowed by his faithful lion. The lady and
the little maiden waved farewells to Sir
Ivaine from the tower until they could
no longer see him ; then they again took
up the life they had lived before he came
to the castle.

Sir Ivaine rode with the knights for
many months, and had many adventures.
At last, just as the year was drawing to
a close, he started homeward. On the

T

ant> l^ifi 'SmiQfyt^ &^ 115

way, however, he stopped at Arthur s j!^^^-^^
Court to pay his respects to the king and
the queen. They both remembered him
and greeted him kindly.

A great tournament was being held at
that time in Camelot, and the king asked
Sir Ivaine if he would like to take part.
Sir Ivaine was pleased, for he loved the
display of such combats. During the
three days of the tournament he distin-
guished himself greatly.

On the evening of the third day, as
the knights were sitting in the great hall
of the Round Table, a little maiden en-
tered. She went up to King Arthur and
gave him a ring.

"This ring," she said, "is one Sir
Ivaine gave my lady. She returns it,
and has vowed never to see him again be-
cause he has broken his promise to her.''

Then, before any one could stop her,
she left the hall, mounted her horse, and
rode away. Sir Ivaine sprang to his feet,
staring wildly. Whitsuntide had fallen
on the first day of the tournament, his
year and a day had more than passed,
and he had forgotten his promise !

^

r" ii6 -^ i^(ng arti^ttt

/z/^S^ He rushed from the hall and down the
hill through the streets of Camelot, out
of the city gate, and into the forest. He
ran on and on until he fell exhausted.
The next day he awoke in a fever, and
, would have died but for his faithful lion.

The poor animal tried to make Sir Ivaine
rise, but seeing that he could not, dragged
him to the edge of a brook, where he
could drink when he was thirsty. The
lion also brought him game. At first Sir

■ Ivaine would not touch it, but finally

■ began to eat it raw.

After a time he became better, phys-
ically, but his senses were gone. In his
madness he wandered all through the
woods, fighting with the trees and bushes.
The lion always followed him, protect-
ing him from other animals and from
men.

One day when the lion was absent
finding food. Sir Ivaine lay asleep. A
good hermit came up to him, and pitying
his condition, lifted him in his arms and
carried him to his hut. He bathed the
poor knight, cut his hair, and put a robe
upon him. He was laying him upon a

bed when the lion came roaring to the f^^^-^^
door and dashed it open.

When it saw the hermit tending its
master, it fawned at his feet. After that
Sir Ivaine spent much of his time in the
hut. The lion supplied him with food,
bringing meat to the hermit, who always
divided it into four parts: three parts he
gave to the lion, and one he cooked for
Sir Ivaine and himself.

Sometimes Sir Ivaine would run away
from the hermit and wander for days in
the forest. The lion took care of him,
and always led him back to the hermit's
hut. Once, however. Sir Ivaine set forth
in the direction of his wife's castle. At
night the lion tried to take him to the
hut, but in vain. For days he wandered,
always in the same direction, until at last
he reached the wood where the stone
platform was. He laid himself down
upon it and slept. Soon a lady and a
maid appeared. The lion sprang at them,
but when it reached their feet, it licked
the lady's hand, for she was its mistress.

It took her robe in its teeth and pulled
her gently to the spot where Sir Ivaine

ii8 -^ feing atftl^ttr

iva^ne ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ would Hot look at him,
because she had not forgiven him for
breaking his promise. But the little
maiden said:

''Dear mistress, look at him. The
story which the knights of Arthur's Court
told us about his madness must be true.
If you will but look at his face you will
see that it is the face of a man who has
lost his senses.*'

. Then the lady knelt beside him. When
she saw his worn features and his tattered
garments, she began to believe, that he
really had lost his senses from grief. She
' sent the little maiden to the castle for an
ointment she had. It was so powerful
that if it were rubbed over a person who
was ill, it would cure him, no matter what
his disease was. When the little maid
brought it, the lady put it upon Sir Ivaine,
but so gently as not to rouse him.

After several hours. Sir Ivaine awoke.
At first he hardly knew where he was,
but soon he recollected all that had hap-
pened, and seeing his lady near, begged
her to forgive him. This she did, and
they were reconciled. Sir Ivaine was

sure that he would never again forget to ^^ .
keep a promise.

For some months they lived very hap-
pily in the castle. Then they went to
Camelot in order to be near to Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table.

•^ Mm ^ttl^nv

^baldI

IN Arthur's Court there dwelt a poor
knight named Balin, who had acci-
dentally killed the cousin of King Arthur,
and had been taken to the court of the
king for trial. He had lived there almost
as a prisoner for six months, until it was
decided that he had not meant to do
wrong. All his money was gone, and his
clothes and armor were poor. He was
sorry for this, but he was still more sorry
that he was not doing brave deeds like
the other knights.

One day when he sat in the great hall
at Camelot, looking at the shields which

were carved or covered with gold, a

[120]

<^

am> i^ tttrfifttg ^ 121

damsel entered who wore a rich mantle. ^^^^--*
trimmed with fur. As Arthur and the
knights lo*jked at her, she let it fall to
the floor, and they saw that she wore a
heavy sword.

'" Damsel/" said Arthur, "why do you.
a maiden, wear a sword?"'

•*Alas!"" said the maiden. "I should
be glad if I did not wear it. It is very
heayv. and causes me pain. But J am
forced to wear it until I meet a knight
who can take it from me. '

"Surely many knights could do that,
and gladly/' the lords said.

*"Xo/' said the lady. "It seems that
there is but one knight in all the world
who is to take the sword. I heard that
there were brave knights at the Court of
King Rience. the enemy of King Arthur,
and I went there. Yet no one could un-
fasten the sword. Xow am I come here
on the same errand. "*

*" In truth, damsel/" said the king, '"you
are right welcome. My knights shall tr\'
to take \'our weapon."

Then, at a sign from Arthur, a knight
stepped forward. But, even though he

sirBaiin exerted all his strength, the sword could
not be unfastened.

**Sir, you need not pull so hard/' said
the damsel. * ' The one who is to take the
sword will do so easily.'*

All the knights tried except Sir Balin,
who stood back because of his poor
clothes. Yet he wanted very much to
see if he was the chosen knight, and just
as the damsel was going away, he said:

''Damsel, will you let me try? I am
poorly clothed, but my heart tells me
that I may succeed.*'

The damsel saw that he had a good
face. But his clothes were so poor she
doubted if he were really a knight.

''I am afraid you will fail," she said.

''Ah, maiden," he returned, "poor
clothes are but the outside. Good deeds
are just as worthy, whether done by a
rich person or a poor one. Many a man
who is badly clothed has real valor and
kindness."

' ' That is very true, " she said ; " so try,
good sir."

Then Sir Balin seized the hilt of the
sword, and the weapon came away easily.

^

ami i^ fenig^ ^ 1^3

All the lords wondered, and the lady -^^-»^'*
Scdd:

**You are a good knight, the best I
have met. You shall do many brave
deeds. And now, give me my sword
again."

•* Xo," said Sir Balin, **I shoidd like to
keep this sword, for I have no other."

**AIas!"said the maiden, '•J am sorry
to hear these words, for now I must give
you the sword."

*' Surely he deserves it," said Arthur.
** for it weighed heavily on you."

*' Yes," she replied, *• but it is a misfor-
tune for him to keep it. He shall slay with
it the best friend he has in the world. It
is going to prove his destruction."

Sir Balin would not believe her.

**I could not slay my best friend," he
said. *" Besides, I am willing to meet
whatever happens, and I wish to keep the
sword."

Then the maiden departed in great
sorrow, while Balin said to the king:

" My lord, give me permission to leave
your court."

*'I do not like to lose jtju," said the

sirBaiin king. ' ' Pcthaps you are angry because
you were in prison so long. You must
know that it takes time to find out who
is innocent and who is guilty.''

**My lord," answered Sir Balin, ^'I
know it is not wise to make a judgment
hastily, and I do not blame you for keep-
ing me in prison. I love you, and wish
to leave your court that I may do some
deed worthy of the Round Table.'*

Then Arthur said that he might go.
Soon a servant brought to Balin a fine
horse and good armor which were the
gifts of the king. Balin at once took
leave of Arthur and the knights, and rode
away, singing as he rode, for he was very
happy. Sometimes he stopped to lift up
his shield and admire it. It had a blue
emblem upon it, and to Sir Balin's eyes
its beauty was that of the sky, the soft
blue of heaven.

Sir Balin rode until he was tired. At
last, from the crest of a hill, he saw a
gloomy stone castle, and galloped towards
it joyfully, hoping to rest there.

At a turn of the road, he saw a cross
with gold letters upon it. He stopped to

V V

anP f^^ fctrfgl^tj8 s;> 125 - -^

read the words, which were: "Let no -S/ir^''^/^
knight go to the castle, for great danger
is there."

"Oh," said Sir Balin, "I am used to
danger. I fear nothing," and he went on.

Presently an old man started up be-
side the road. He had a long gray beard,
and was dressed in a long gray robe that
sparkled with little specks of frost. The
old man said to Sir Balin:

"Did you not read the letters on the
cross?"

"Yes," replied Sir Balin, "but I am
not afraid."

"Oh, Sir Balin, you of all men should
fear to go to that castle," the old man said.

"Why?" he asked in amazement.
"Nevertheless, I shall go."

"Sir Balin, Sir Balin!" cried the old
man after him, "you are too self-willed.
You will be very sorry for what you have
done before you die."

But Sir Balin rode on without fear, and
soon reached the gate of the castle. A
hundred beautiful ladies and many
knights welcomed him. They took oflF
his armor and put a rich crimson cloak

126 ^ "tsiim 9ini9ut

sirBaiin upon his shouldets. Then they led him
into a banquet hall where there was mu-
sic and dancing. They set food before
him, and he ate, thankfully. He was
very happy, feeling sure that he could
rest here for many days.

Just as he was thinking this, the lady
who was mistress of the castle said :

* ' Sir knight, it is the rule of this castle
that every lord who comes here as a
guest must fight. ''

''That is a hard custom,'* said Sir
Balin.

''Yet you need fight but once,'' an-
swered the lady. "We have here the
knight who entered j ust before you came. ' '

' ' Alas! " said Sir Balin, ' ' I would rather
not fight, for I wish to rest. Since such
is the custom of the castle, however, I
must do my part. Let some one bring
my armor."

A servant at once came up to him with
a suit of black armor.

' ' This is not my armor, " said Sir Balin.
"My armor is not painted black. It is
honest gray steel, decorated v/ith blue."

" It is the custom of the castle to wear

^

ann W fenigl^tg^ 127

black, " they told him. ' ' This armor is as ^''>'^^^'«
good as your own/'

Sir Balin felt sad, he could hardly tell
why ; and was very sorry that he had ever
come to the castle. Putting on the armor,
however, he went into the courtyard and
mounted his horse. No sooner was he
ready than another knight, clad all in
black, entered the courtyard.

The two knights rode together so
fiercely that the shock threw them both
oflF their horses in a swoon. After a time
they recovered and began to fight on foot,
pressing each other near the walls of the
castle.

Sir Balin was fighting with the sword
that he had taken from the damsel in
King Arthur's Court. It was a strong
sword, and whenever it struck, the armor
of his opponent cracked. They fought
till their breath failed, and then they
rested. Each knew that never before
had he dealt with such a strong enemy.

Then they fought again, and gave each
other seven deep wounds, the least of
which would prove fatal. All the ground
was red with blood, but Sir Baliix fought

:j>'V

^ 128 ^ Mxi^ ^x^yxt

sirBaiin on still, for the people of the castle were
watching from the walls, and he wished
to be thought a great warrior. So at last
he used all his remaining strength and
gave the other knight such a hard blow
that he fell to the ground. Sir Balin
knew that it was a death stroke. He felt
that he, too, was about to die, and said:

''Who are you? I never fought with
such a strong knight before.''

The other answered faintly:

''I am Sir Balan, the brother to the
good knight Sir Balin. "

Then Sir Balin cried out:

''Alas, alas! that I should live to see
this day!'' and he fell backward in a
swoon.

Sir Balan was dying, but he crawled
on his hands and knees to where Sir
Balin lay, and took off his helmet only to
discover the face of his brother. Then
he wept bitterly till Sir Balin recovered
from his swoon.

"Alas! "said Sir Balan, "if we had but
worn our own armor we should have
known each other. And now we must
die; we have killed each other."

andj|<0j|n<g5t^sr

fought
till their
breath
failed''

I30 -^ feing ^Ittl^ttr

Sir Balin was too full of remorse to
weep.

*^A11 this is my fault," he said. ''As
the old man on the road told me, I have
been too self-willed. First, I would have
the damsel's sword, although she told me
that I should slay with it the best friend
I had. That is you, Balan. And then I
would enter this castle in spite of warn-
ings. I deserve to die, but it is a hard
punishment that I should have killed
you, my brother.''

Soon some ladies came from the wall
into the courtyard, and to them Sir Balin
said:

*' We are two dear brothers who have
killed each other. I pray you, promise
to bury us in the same grave.'.'

The ladies wept as they made the
promise. The two brothers put their
arms about each other and waited for
death. They hoped to die together, but
Sir Balan died first. Soon after, when
Sir Balin had also died, the ladies'buried
them together, and put a stone above the
grave, telling the sad story of their com-
bat and death.

ann W fetrigl^tg ^

ONE of the bravest knights in King
Arthurs Court was Sir Geraint.
Once he was in the forest with Queen
Guinevere and one of her maidens, when
a lady, a knight, and a dwarf rode by.
The queen told the maiden to go to the
dwarf and ask who his master was.

As the maiden approached them, she
saw that the knight had a very proud
face. She asked the dwarf his master's
name,. but he said, roughly:

''I do not know."

'*If you do not know,'' answered the
maiden, *'I will ask him myself."

She started to ride up to the knight,
but the dwarf struck at her with his whip.
Upon this, she went back and told the

Gera^'nf ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ Getaiiit what had passed.
and Enid Sir Gcraiiit was very angry, and he said
to the queen :

"Fair queen, I will ride after this
knight and his dwarf and avenge the
insult done to your maiden. If I suc-
ceed, I shall return in three days/'

'*Do so,** said the queen, **and I trust
you will succeed, not only in this, but in
all things which you attempt. Some day
you will love some fair lady. Before you
marry her, bring her to me, and no mat-
ter how poor or how rich she may be, I
will clothe her for her wedding in the
most beautiful garments in the world.
They shall shine like the sun.**

So off rode Sir Geraint, keeping at
some distance behind the lady, the knight,
and the dwarf. At last, after passing
through many woods, he lost sight of
them as they disappeared beyond the top
of a hill. Sir Geraint rode up, and saw
below him, in a valley, the one street of
a little town. »0n one side was a fortress,
so new that the stone of which it was
built was still white ; while on the other
side stood a gray old castle, fast falling

into decay. He saw the three people he q^^^^-^^
was following enter the fortress. and Enid

In the little town there was a great deal
of noise and bustle. At first Sir Geraint
could not find any place to stay, for the
houses were all full. He stopped before
a servant who was scouring his master s
armor, and asked what all the noise meant.
The servant said:

''The Sparrow-hawk,'' and went on
working.

Then he met an old man carrying a
sack of corn, and asked him the same
question. The old man made the same
reply. Next Sir Geraint approached one
who was making armor, and questioned
him. Without looking up the man replied ;

' ' Friend, he who works for the Sparrow-
hawk has little time for answering ques-
tions.''

Sir Geraint was vexed, and said:

''I am weary of hearing of your Spar-
row-hawk. I do not understand what you
mean. Will you not* tell me where I can
find a place to stay for to-night ? And
will you not sell me some armor ? I have
but my sword."

^

134 ^ Mn^ artl^ttt?

Geri^';a Thcii the man looked up, and said:
and Enid **Your patdon, sir. We are all very
busy here, for to-morrow we hold a tourna-
ment, and our work is not half done. I
cannot give you armor, for we need all
that we have in the town. As to lodging,
all the room is taken. However, perhaps
Earl Iniol in the castle will receive you."
Sir Geraint rode over to the gray old
castle, and as the gate was open, entered
the ruined courtyard. Dismounting, he
went into the hall. Here he found the^
earl, an elderly man dressed in clothes
which had once been handsome, but were.
now old and worn. To him Sir Geraint
said:

* ' Good sir, I seek lodging for the night. ' '
The old Earl Iniol answered:
* * Sir, I was once rich and am now poor ;
nevertheless, I will gladly give you the
best I have.'*

As he spoke, some one in the castle be-
gan to sing. The voice was very sweet.
Sir Geraint thought he had never heard
any one" sing so wonderfully.

*'That is my daughter Enid,'' said the
earl.

^

atiD !^(g lUiniQfytfi ^ 135

Then he took Sir Geraint into a room q^^^^-^^
in which sat an old lady in a faded velvet and Enid
gown. She was the earFs wife. By her
side stood Enid in a faded silk gown.
She was as beautiful as her voice was
sweet, and after watching her, Sir Geraint
said to himself :

'*I already love this maiden.*'

He said nothing out loud, only looked
at her. Earl Iniol spoke to her:

'* Enid, this good knight will stay with
us. His horse is in the courtyard; take it
to the stall and give it corn. Then go into
the town and buy us some food.''

Sir Geraint wished to put away his
horse himself, but the old earl said:

' ' Sir, we are very poor, but we cannot
permit our guest to do any work. I pray
you, stay here."

So Enid took the horse to the stall.
After that, she went into the town and
soon returned with meat and sweet cakes.
Then, because most of the rooms in the old
castle were in ruins, she cooked the meat
in the same hall in which they were to eat.
When the meal was ready, she waited on
her father and her mother and Sir Geraint.

136 -^ feing Qivt\iuv

Geraint '^^^ knight watched her and loved her
and Enid more and more.

When they had risen from the table, he
said to the earl :

** My lord, pray tell me what the people
of this town mean when they speak of the
Sparrow-hawk. *'

The earl's face grew sad, as he said:

*' That is the name given to the young
knight who rules in this town.''

'*Does he live in the fortress?'' asked
Sir Geraint. *'And do a lady and a dwarf
ride with him?"

" Yes," said the earl.

''Ah, then he is the man I am in search
of," said Sir Geraint. '*I must fight with
him before three days are over. I am Ge-
raint of King Arthur s Court."

''I know your name well," said the
earl. **We often hear of your great
deeds at Camelot. Many times have I
related to my Enid the story of your
brave deeds."

' ' I am bound to do my duty with the
other knights," answered Sir Geraint.
**And now tell me more of this Sparrow-
hawk."

^

ant> l^(g "Sunigfyt^ ^ ^37

' 'Alas! he is my nephew, '' said the earl, ^^^^^-^^
*'At one time I ruled this town. My and Enid,
nephew, the Sparrow-hawk, was powerful,
too, and he asked to unite our power by
marrying Enid, but neither , she nor I
wished it. Then he collected a body of
men and attacked me, and took all my
wealth, leaving me nothing but this old
castle/* -

* * To-morrow, *' said Sir Geraint, ' 1 will
fight in the tournament with this Sparrow-
hawk, and conquer him, and give you back
your lands. But I lack armor. " 1.

' ' I can give you armor, although it is
old and rusty, *' said the earl. ' ' But no one
is allowed to fight in this tournament un-
less thefe is some lady he loves best in all
the world. Then he fights for the sake
of this lady, and if he wins, receives the
prize, which he in turn gives to her.''

' * What is the prize ? *' asked Sir Geraint

''A hawk, a sparrow-hawk made of
gold. This nephew of mine is very strong
and has always overcome every knight who
has opposed him in these tournaments,
which are held yearly. It is because he
has won the prize so often that he is called

^

138 ^ Um 3itt]^ttt?

Geri5n/ ^^^ Spartow-hawk. But tell me, is there
and Enid some lady whom you love?*'

Then Sir Geraint said:

''I love this child of yours, my lord,
and will gladly make her my wife if you
will permit it/'

The earl was very glad, but Enid was
afraid, for she thought she was not wor-
thy of such a great knight. Yet, she knew
she loved him, and said so, and soon prom-
ised to go with him to Arthur's Court
within three days.

The next morning, the earl and Sir
Geraint and Enid went to the field where
the tournament was to take place. Many
knights and ladies were there.- The
ladies sat under a pavilion which was
draped in purple velvet ornamented with
gold, while the knights were on horse-
back. A herald blew a trumpet, and the
knight who was called the Sparrow-hawk
galloped into the field.

He rode around it three times, and then
went up to the pavilion and said to hislady :

'*I give you the gold sparrow-hawk
again, because no one dares to fight with
me for it"

Then Sir Geraint rode forward <^^ramt

rusty armor and said: .^^<^^^^^

''I will fight with you." V

The knight looked upon him, and ga
a very scornful laiigh as he rode at Sii
Geraint. The tw^o clashed together and
began to fight fiercely, while all the peo-
ple watched. Twice they had to stop and
rest. For a long time they seemed evenly
matched, and no one could decide which
would win. But when Sir Geraint looked
to where Enid sat in her faded silk gown
among the richly dressed ladies in the pa-
vilion, he grew very strong and struck his
enemy such a blow that he fell to the earth.

'*Now, Sparrow-hawk,*' said Sir Ge-
raint, ' * I have overthrown you. You must
do two things : you must ride with your
lady and your dwarf to Arthur s Court and
ask pardon of Queen Guinevere because
your dwarf struck her maiden; and you
must restore all the riches you have taken
from your good uncle, Earl Iniol.''

This the knight promised to do. And
afterwards, in Arthur s Court, he grew
very sorry for his evil deeds, and became
a good man.

^

Mo ^ feing artl^ttr

•^^ Meanwhile, Enid was making ready to
andEp^ go to Arthur's Court with Sir Geraint.
She was sorry that she had only her robe
of faded silk. She remembered a robe
hfer mother had given her before the
Sparrow-hawk took their riches. It was
of velvet, the color of mother-of-pearl,
with gold leaves and flowers and birds
embroidered upoii it.

While she was thinking of this beau-
tiful robe, her mother entered the room,
carrying it Enid gave a cry of joy, and
her mother told her that the Sparrow-
hawk had just given it back, together
with other robes and gold and jewels.
**Put it on, Enid,** she said, and helped
her daughter to array herself in the hand-
some gown, exclaiming: '' How beautiful
you look, my dear child ! Sir Gerg^int may
well be proud to fetch such a fair lady to
King Arthurs Court."

Just then the earl entered to tell them
that the knight wanted Enid to ride with
him to Camelot in the faded silk dress in
which he had first seen her.

Enid, although she was deeply disap-
pointed, at once put on again her faded

\ \ 1

ant> l^(g "SxniQfyt^ ^ hi

gown. When Sir Geraint came in he saw q^^^^-^^
that the earl's wife was also disappointed, and Enid
so he told them that the queen had prom-
ised to dress his bride in the most beau-
tiful robes in the world for her wedding.
At this both the ladies were much pleased.
So after bidding farewell to her parents,
Enid rode with Sir Geraint to Camelot,
where the queen welcomed her, and gave
her a robe that was as bright as the sun.
Then the good Archbishop of Canterbury
married Sir Geraint and Enid amid great
rejoicings.

■l ifting arti^m;

(ARTHUR AND SHU
ACCALON

T'

'HERE was a woman
in Arthurs Court
named Morgan le Fay, who had learned a
great deal about magic. She was a wicked
woman, and hated the king because he
was more powerful than she, and because
he was so good.

However, she pretended to be a true
friend to him, and the king believed in
her. One day when they were talking to-
gether, she asked him if he would not let
her take charge of his wonderful sword
Excalibur, and its scabbard. She said
that she would guard them so carefully
that they would never be stolen. As
she was very eager, Arthur granted her
request.

One day in time of peace, King Arthur

went out hunting with a certain knight

[1421

named Sir Accalon, who was the lover of ^J'j ^Jy
Morgan le Fay. They rode for a long Accaion
time, and when they were tired, stopped
to rest beside a great lake. As they looked
over its shining waters, they saw a beau-
tiful little ship, which sailed straight
towards them, and ran up to the sands
at their feet. It was all covered with
golden silks, which waved in the gentle
wind. King Arthur and Sir Accalon
climbed into it and examined it thor-
oughly, but they found no one on board.

They rested on two couches which
were on the deck, until it grew dark.
Then they were about to return home,
when all at once, a hundred torches set
on the sides of the ship were lighted, and
suddenly there appeared twelve beautiful
damsels who told the two that they were
welcome, and that they should be served
with a banquet.

Presently the maidens led the king
and the knight into a room which had a
table covered with a white cloth embroid-
ered in purple. It bore many golden
dishes, and each dish had a beautiful
design carved upon it. Some dishes had

144 ^ Mm ^VtljUV

^nd%y^ vine-leaves, others ivy-leaves ; some had

Accaion angels with long robes sweeping back in

graceful lines ; and all these dishes held

choice food. The king and Sir Accaion

ate to their hearts' content.

Then the damsels led them into two
separate chambers. King Arthur was
tired and so sleepy that he gave but one
glance at his becfeoom. He saw that it
was hung in red silk embroidered with
gold dragons and grij0&ns. Then he threw
himself on his'bed and slept very soundly.

When he awoke, he found himself not
in the pretty bed-chamber, but in a dark
place. He could see nothing, but all about
him he heard the sound of complaining
and weeping. He was much bewildered,
but in a moment he cried :

' ' What is this ? Where am I ? "

Then a voice answered:

''You are in prison, as we are."

''Who are you ?** asked Arthur.

The voice replied :

"We are twenty knights, prisoners,
and some of us have been here as long as
seven years. We are in the dungeons of
a wicked lord named Sir Damas. He has

aim l^g ittriflfttg ai' 145

n

-^

X

a younger brother, and the two brothers ^^
are enemies, quarreling about their inher- Accaiom
itance. Now the younger brother. Sir
Ontzlake, is very strong, but Sir Damas is
not strong, and moreover, he is a coward.
So he tries to find a knight who will fight
for him against Sir Ontzlake.

"But Sir Damas is so much hated that
no one will fight for him. So he goes
about the country with a body of rough
men, and whenever he sees a knight, he
captures him. Then he asks him to fight
with Sir Ontzlake. So far, all the knights
have refused, and have been thrown into
prison. We do not have food enough, but
we would rather die here than fight for
Sir Damas, who is so wicked."

At that moment a damsel entered the
prison with a torch, which faintly lighted
the dismal place, and advanced to the king.

''Sir," she said, "will you fight for my
lord. Sir Damas ? If you will, you shall
be taken from this prison. If you will
not, you shall die here."

Arthur considered for some time, and
then said:

* ' I would rather fight than die in prison.

4/.

'Z^^ 146 -^ fetng artl^ttt?

^^^^j^.^ If I fight, will you deliver also all these
Accaion prisoners?''

The damsel promised, and Arthur con-
sented to fight. While she went to tell Sir
Damas, Arthur said to the other prisoners:
'* My friends, I do not know Sir Damas,
and I do not know Sir Ontzlake. I do not
know whether they are bad or good. But
I will fight, and then, when I have con-
quered, I shall judge between them, and
do justice to both.''

! ' ' That is a good plan, ' ' said the knights,

''but why are you so sure that you will
conquer?"

I ''I am Arthur, the King," he replied.

I At that the knights set up a great cry

of joy, and the king continued:

i * * I shall send for my good sword Excal-

I ibur and the scabbard, and with these I

j shall suiely win."

\ So when Arthur and the knights were

1 led out of prison, the king sent the dam-

sel who had visited them to Morgan le
Fay for his sword and scabbard.

Meantime, the knight who had accom-
panied Arthur on the little ship. Sir Acca-
ion, also awoke. He found himself in

f^

the palace of Morgan le Fay, and he won- ^^
dered very much where Arthur was. He Accaion
went to the lady, who said to him:

* * My dear lord, the day has come when
you can have great power if you want it.
Should you like to be king of this land,
instead of Arthur?"

Now Sir Accaion was a traitor at heart.
He wanted very much to be king, even if
the good Arthur was to be killed; so he
said:

"Yes, truly."

Then she said:

' ' You shall be king, and I shall be your
queen. All you need to do is to fight a
great battle, which you shall win. I have
been using my magic. It was I who sent
the ship of silk to you and Arthur. I
had him put into prison, and I had you
brought here."

Sir Accaion wondered very much.
Then she told him of the fight King Ar-
thur was to make against Sir Ontzlake.

' ' But I have caused Sir Ontzlake to fall
sick," she said, ''and he cannot fight. I
shall go with you to his castle and you can
offer to fight for him."

148 ^ Mm arti^ur

and^y *'I to fight with the king!" cried Sir
Accaion Accalon. * * He would surely overthrow
me."

' ' He cannot, " said Morgan le Fay, * * be-
cause you are to fight with his sword. A
little while ago he sent to me for Excalibur
and the scabbard, but I returned him a
false sword which looks like Excalibur,
and a false scabbard. You shall take the
true ones, and then you will surely over-
come him and rule this land."

Then Sir Accalon was glad, and he
hastened with the lady to the castle of
Sir Ontzlake. They found him groaning
because he was ill and because Sir Damas
had sent him a challenge to fight with a
knight, and he could not accept it. He
was much relieved when Morgan le Fay
told him that Sir Accalon would fight in
his place.

Early in the afternoon. King Arthur
and Sir Accalon rode into the field where
the combat was to be held. Arthur did
not know who Sir Accalon was, nor did
any one else, except Morgan le Fay. Two
sides of the field were full of people who
came to watch, half of whom were friends

n

anP l^fg ftirtfii^tg g^ 149

of Sir Damas, and the other half were ^^^y
friends of Sir Ontzlake. Accaion

Arthur and Sir Accaion rode at each
other so furiously that at the shock of the
meeting both fell off their horses. Then
they began to fight fiercely with their
swords. The king could make no headway
with his false steel, but whenever Sir
Accaion struck at Arthur he drew blood.

The king was much amazed. He grew
weaker and weaker, but still he kept on
his feet. Those who watched him were
sorry for him ; they thought they had never
seen a man fight so bravely. At last
Arthurs sword broke, and fell in two
pieces on the ground. When Sir Accaion
saw this, he cried:

''Now, yield to me."

* ' I will never yield, " said the king, ' 'and
if you do not get me another sword, you
will be shamed before all men, for it is an
unknightly thing to fight with a defense-
less man."

" I do not care," said Sir Accaion. " If
you will not yield, defend yourself with
your shield as best you can."

He rushed at the king. Arthur was so

ISO ^^ fefng arti^ur

Und^sJr w^^k that he could hardly stand, but he
Accaion guarded himself as well as he could with
his shield. Soon he could do no more, and
fell to the ground.

At this moment the Lady of the Lake,
who had given Arthur his sword, came
upon the field. She was invisible, but any-
one who had listened intently could have
heard a sound like the ripple of water as
she walked. She caused Excalibur to fall
out of the hand of Sir Accaion and drop
near Arthur.

When it fell, Arthur saw that it was
his own Excalibur. He grasped its handle
and some of his strength came back. He
struggled to his feet, and rushing up to
Sir Accaion, seized the scabbard of Excali-
bur and threw it far over the field.

''Now,'' he said, **send for a second
sword and fight with me.'*

Then Sir Accaion was afraid. Yet he
thought that Arthur was so weak that he
could still be overcome. So he sent for
a second sword, and they began to fight
again. Arthur's strength, however, had
largely returned, and in a short time he
gave Sir Accaion a mortal stroke.

ri

ann l^fg liixiiQfyt^^ 151

Sir Accalon fell to the ground, and the ^^^^
king, leaning over him, cried: Accaion

**Tell me who you are."

Then Sir Accalon was filled with re-
morse, and he said :

''Oh, my King, I have been a traitor
to you, but now I am dying, and I am
sorry for what I have done. I deserve
my death."

He told the king his name, and all
about his treachery, and that of Morgan
le Fay.

King Arthur was sad.

''It is very hard to be deceived in a
friend," he said, "but I forgive you
freely. I will try to cure your wound,
and sometime I shall trust you again."

"You cannot cure me," said Sir Acca-
lon. "I am dying. Let them carry me
off the field."

So he was taken to a neighboring
abbey, while the people crowded about
the king to congratulate him, but Arthur
said:

"I am sad at heart. My victory is no
comfort to me, for to-day I have lost a
friend whom I believed true."

152 ^ Mm artl^m?

an^^sty '^^^^ ^^ called the two brothers, Sir
Acca/on Damas and Sir Ontzlake, and judged their
cause. He decided that their property
must be divided equally between them,
and that they must be friends. They
promised never to quarrel again. Arthur
told them that they must be kind to other
knights and to all people. He said that
if he heard that they were not, he would
come and punish them.

After this. Sir Damas gave back to the
twenty knights all their money, and they
went on their way rejoicing. King
Arthur mounted his horse and rode over
to the abbey, where he sat by the bed of
Sir Accalon till the poor knight died.
Then the king went back alone to his
Court at Camelot.

anD 1^(18 ftirigl^tg s

OWA»JrHURKHJ6HT
THA^dANT @ ^ i

ONCE upon a time King Arthur and
some of his knights were sailing in
a ship. The king, being tired, went to
sleep in his cabin, and began to dream. It
seemed to him that he was sailing with
his people when a great dragon flew out
of the west. This dragon had a blue head
and a gold back. Underneath he shone
like a rainbow. Flames of fire rushed out
of his mouth and covered land and sea.

As he flew, there came out of the east
a great bear, very rough, and as black as
coal, and with wings that flapped like
windmills. The bear and the dragon
roared loudly, and they began to fight
and struggle till the sea was all red with
blood. At last the dragon conquered.

When the king awoke from this dream
[1533

154 ^ fefng ^vtliuv

^^^^^ he sent for Merlin and told him of it, and
Fouj^A^ asked for an explanation.
^G/an^ * * My lord, ' ' Merlin replied, * * the dragon
betokens yourself; the colors on its body
are signs of your glory. The bear .beto-
kens some tyrant who torments the peo-
ple and whom you will slay.'*

Soon after this, the ship in which the
company was, came in sight of land.
When they had anchored, the knights
noticed on the beach a crowd of people
who were weeping. Descending from the
ship, Arthur asked one of the men what
troubled them, and what was the name
of their country.

''Good sir,'' returned the man, ''this
is the country of Brittany, and we weep be-
cause our country is desolated by a giant.
He makes us bring him food. First, he
ate up all the oxen we had, and then our
horses. Next he demanded our children,
and now there are no little ones in the land.
To-day he took our good duchess of Brit-
tany, and carried her off to his mountain."

"Alas! *' said the king. "It grieves me
to hear this, not only because a cruel deed
has been done, but because the duchess of

and l^g I3migfyt» ^ 155

Brittany is my cousin's wife. I must save ^^^^
this lady. I will fight with the giant." /2w£^

"Good sir," cried the people in amaze- Gian/
ment, "it is not possible! A whole com-
pany of us dare not attack him, and yet
we account ourselves brave men."

"That may well be," replied Arthur,
"and yet with my good sword and scab-
bard I have no fear."

Then the men said:

"If you will go, my lord, yonder is the
great mountain where the giant lives.
At the top, two huge fires bum contin-
ually in front of a cave, and in that cave
are greater treasures than you can dream
of. They are all yours if you will but slay
this monster."

Arthur replied nothing to them, but
called Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere, and rode
with them to the foot of the motmtain.
From that point he ascended alone.
When he was nearly to the top he came
upon a woman, clad all in black, who sat
weeping by the side of a newly-made
grave.

"Good woman, why do you weep?"
asked Arthur.

156 ^ ftfng gtrtJ^ttt?

^^^^ * ' Hush, hush ! " she cried, ' ' or the giant

Fought will hear you and come and kill you. He

Giant cau hear me, but the sound of weeping

delights him, and therefore I need not

restrain my grief/'

' * Why do you grieve ?" the king asked.

''Alas ! Because my good mistress,
the duchess of Brittany, is dead. The
giant has killed her.*'

At that Arthur gripped tightly the
handle of his sword and said:

"I will kill this wretch before I am an
hour older."

"Ah, my lord,'' said the woman, "the
greatest kings in the country are afraid
of him. He has a coat embroidered with
the beards of fifteen of them. He de-
manded these beards as a sign that they
acknowledged him as lord."

' ' There is at least one king who does
not acknowledge him as lord," shouted
Arthur, as he strode hastily forward.

When he reached the top he saw the
giant asleep in front of the two great fires
before the cave. He was taller than the
tallest pine that ever grew. His arms
were as big as the trunk of an oak tree.

anP W^ fenfgi^tiBi gp 157

His mouth was as large as a cave, and ^^^^^
from it and his nostrils came forth fire and fou^a^
flame like that from the mountain of Gtant
Vesuvius. Although his huge eyes were
closed, flashes of lightning seemed to
shoot from beneath the lids. At his side
was an iron club as large as a steeple.
About him stood trembling old women
fanning him as he slept.

King Arthur approached the monster,
and said to him:

''Wretch, awake and fight, for your
hour has come.'*

The giant, starting up, looked down
scornfully upon the king and, laughing,
threw his great club at Arthur. But the
king leapt aside and the club fell harm-
lessly on the ground, making a hollow
where it struck.

Then Arthur rushed toward the giant,
waving his good sword Excalibur. The
giant caught him in his arms, in order to
squeeze him to death. The king's armor
pressed closer and closer about hiri, and
he began to lose his strength. But he kept
his hand upon his scabbard, and so did not
die.

y^r^LT ^^ ^ ^^^ minutes the monster, making
Fought sure that Arthur was dead, dropped him to
Giant the ground. After the king had recovered
himself, he sprang to his feet, and taking
his sword, threw it at the giant. The good
steel pierced his neck, and he sank to the
ground, shouting so loudly that Sir Kay
and Sir Bedivere at the foot of the moun-
tain heard, and trembled for their master's
safety.

Then the giant again seized Arthur in
his arms, and the two began to roll down
the mountain side. Whenever Arthur
was able to, he struck at the giant with
his dagger, wounding him sorely. At last,
still struggling and rolling, they came to
the spot where Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere
were. These two loosed the giant's arms
from the king, who then gave one last
blow to the monster, killing him. Then
he sent Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere for his
sword Excalibur.

. When the people on the seashore heard
what Arthur had done, they fell on their
knees and thanked him, offering him all
the giant's treasure. He said, however,
that he would leave it with them to divide

among the poor people of the country. ^^^^
For himself, all he wanted was the giant's Fought

iron club. Giant

The people sent fifty men to the top of
the mountain to get it for him. As they
had no horses, it was a long time before
they could drag the cluli to the seashore.
There they put it on a barge. It was so
heavy that it pressed the barge down till
the water came almost to the edge of the
vessel. Then King Arthur bade the people
good-by, and took ship with his knights.
The grateful men of Brittany stood on the
shore, and shouted and waved until the
ship could no longer be seen.

//..

Mm ^vG^nv

IN the time of the great Roman, Julius
Caesar, about five hundred years
before King Arthur was born, the people
of Rome conquered Britain. They made
many improvements in the land, building
roads and walls, the remains of which may
be seen to this day. But they also forced
the Britons to pay them much money.
All the kings did this up to the time of
Arthur. He, however, considered that
England was his own. He had conquered
the lesser kings, and made one realm of
all the land, over which he ruled with wise
government. So he refused to send any
money to Rome.

C'6o]

Once King Arthur's knights were all ^^^^
together in the great hall. It was a time Fought
of peace, and they spent the days in riding Rome
and hunting. On this day, while the king
was sitting on his throne, twelve old men
entered, each bearing a branch of olive,
as a sign that they came in peace. They
were the messengers of the emperor of
Rome, and, after bowing to the king,
they said:

'*Sir, our mighty emperor sends you
greeting, and commands you to acknowl-
edge him as lord, and to send him the
money due him from your realm. Your
father and his predecessors did this, and
so must you. If you refuse, the emperor
will make such war against you that it
will be an example to all the world.'*

At this the young knights laid their
hands to their swords, but the older
knights, who had self-control enough to
hide their feelings, waited to see what the
king would do.

Arthur bowed courteously to the mes-
sengers, and told them that he would soon
give them an answer. He commanded a

knight to take them to a lodging, and to
11

162 -^ feing attl^ttr

Arthur ^^^ ^^^^ they had all they needed, and he
Fought ordered that no harm should be done them.
Rome Then he called a council of his great lords
and asked their advice.

Sir Lancelot, Arthur's favorite lord,
spoke first, saying:

*'My lord, we have rested for many
weeks, and can make sharp war now. In
days gone by, we should not have dared
attack the Romans, and indeed, our at-
tempt will make the world wonder. But
of a truth, we ought to fighf

Then spoke King Angus of Scotland :

* ' My lord Arthur, you are the greatest
lord on earth. You have made all of us
lesser kings your subjects, and bound the
kingdom together, and stopped our civil
wars. We love you and we will help you.
We pray you to make war on these Ro-
mans. When they ruled our elders, they
demanded much gold and made our
people very poor. If you will fight, I will
furnish you with twenty thousand men,
and will bear all the cost of them myself. ''

Then all the other lords promised to fur-
nish men and arms. When Arthur heard
this, he was glad of their courage and good

will. He called in the messengers and ^^J^^
said to them: Fau^kt

"Return to your emi)eror. Tell him ^opm
that I refuse his command, for I owe him
nothing. I have won this kingdom by my
own strength. Tell him that I shall come
with all my army to Rome and make him
acknowledge me as lord."

Then Arthur told his treasurer to give
the messengers gifts, and to take them
safely out of the country. Sir Lancelot
conducted them to the sea, where they
took ship and sailed to France. On they
journeyed over the Alps and into Italy.
When they told the emperor of Rome
their message, he said:

"I had thought Arthur would yield."

But the messengers said:

*'Sir, his face would have told you, if
you had seen it, that he would never
yield. In truth, there is need of fear, for
he is a great king and surrounded by
great knights."

' ' This is foolish talk, " the emperor said.
"Remember that we are Romans. We
have ruled the world for centuries, and a
little king of little England shall not make

Ar^A^ US fear. You say that he is coming to fight
Fou^At with us. We will take a few troops and
i^ome go forthwith to France to meet him.''

The messengers begged the emperor
to take many troops.

''My lord emperor," they said, ''these
men of Arthur are very numerous and
very brave."

So at last the emperor brought all his
men to France, and there, whenever he
found people who were loyal to Arthur,
he killed and laid waste.

Meanwhile, Arthur had gathered to-
gether all his troops. He bade farewell
to Queen Guinevere, who was so grieved
that she fell in a swoon. Then he rode
off at the head of his men till they came
to the sea, and there they embarked in
ten thousand boats and sailed to France.

They marched till they came near to
the troops of the emperor of Rome, where
they rested for the night. In the morn-
ing they rose at dawn and looked at the
Roman legions. These were encamped
in a green field which glittered with the
gold on their tents and armor. The em-
peror s tent was of purple silk and bore

m^Jl^sjfo^^^ 165

on the top a golden eagle, the emblem of ^^^^
Rome. Foufht

Two of Arthurs knights. Sir Lancelot Itomu
and Sir Gawain, rode out to the em-
peror, and told him that their king had
come.

"That I see," said the emperor laugh-
ing, "and he shall soon return."

The two knights made no answer, but
rode back to Arthur. Soon all the soldiers
on each side made ready for fighting.
The preparation was careful, for they
knew that the contest was to be a great
one. The emperor of Rome addressed
his soldiers:

"Romans, remember that Rome is
the chief cit}' of the world. I do not
say fight as men ; I say to you, fight as
Romans. Then you will surely conquer
these Britons."

King Arthur galloped up and down
before the front rank of his men, looking
at them carefully. He was on a beauti-
ful white horse whose mane rose and
fell in the wind like a wave of the sea.
His soldiers cheered lustih^ for their
beloved commander. Then King Arthur

1 66

: irtnfi 9Mam

Arthur ^^^^^ ^^^ hand for silence, and spoke in
Fought a loud, clear voice :
Rome *' My knights and men whom I love,
remember that you are fighting to-day
for your rights and for the independence
of Britain. Strike well, and do not for-
get that great courage is as powerful as
great numbers."

With that, he gave the signal for at-
tack. The Romans stood in full battle
array with their emperor in front. Be-
side him were sixteen kings with gold
helmets and silver armor. The English
approached, shouting a battle-cry.

Then the Romans, at the call of the
trumpet, rushed forward, and in a moment
the two great armies clashed together.
Clouds of dust arose through which could
be seen at intervals the heads of horses
and the helmets of men. The few poor
shepherds and women who stood on the
outside did not know that the greatest
battle of the time was going on under
that cloud of dust.

Inside the cloud there was great con-
fusion. Britains and Romans were fight-
ing side by side, so closely packed that

ani> INg jmfg^g ^

^

Art/mr
raising
his

hand for
sUence'^

i68 ^ Mm atti^ttr

Ar^A^ sometimes it was hard to strike. All
Fou^^t fought bravely, but no one did so well as
i^ome Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The battle did
not cease until it was dark. Each side
had lost many men. King Arthur wept
as he rode over the field and counted his
dead knights, and even his beautiful
horse drooped its head as if it, also, un-
derstood.

But the next day the two armies began
to fight again, and when the emperor
finally saw that his men were losing and
that most of the kings who were helping
him were dead, he said :

'*This Arthur is a demon and not a
man. I will fight with him myself and
end this battle." And before any one
could stop him, he spurred up to King
Arthur and said:

' * You on the white horse who refuse
to pay me tribute, come out that I may
kill you."

Then Arthur rode quickly towards the
emperor. The two men began to fight,
and Arthur soon saw that he was contend-
ing with a powerful man. He gave the
emperor many a stroke with Excalibur,

^

but he himself received deep blows. At ^^^^
last the emperor pierced x^rthtir's helmet, J^o^^
and wounded him deeply in the cheek. /^ame

King Arthur raised his good Excali-
bur with a last eflfort and struck his
enemy with it so fiercely on the head
that the blow cleft the helmet and pierced
to the emperor's chin. He fell from his
horse without a moan. When the Ro-
mans near by saw that their ruler was
dead, they gave a great cry of grief and
rushed upon Arthur, but his good knights
protected him.

At last, seeing themselves conquered,
the Romans surrendered. Arthur found
among his prisoners three senators, and
among the dead, sixty senators, the six-
teen kings, and the emperor.

He was sorrowful, for he knew that
they were great men. So he had them
embalmed and laid in chests of lead.
Around each chest flags were wound, and
the shields of the dead warriors placed
on top. Then he said to the three sur-
viving senators :

''Take these noble dead bodies back
to Rome. When the Romans see them

170

^ Mxv^ %vS(m

A^hur ^^^y ^^^ never again dare ask tax or

Fought tribute of me. I shall not go to Rome

Rome and take the city from you , but if ever

you send to me for gold, I shall invade

your land and never rest till all Italy is

mine/'

The senators bowed their heads. Then
they laid the body of the emperor on a
car, all alone, with the gold eagle above
him. They laid the bodies of the kings
and the senators two by two on chariots,
and so went slowly towards Rome. And
never again did the kings of Britain have
to pay a tax to the Romans.

\

anb f^i^ Ifetrtgl^tg s

-^

TTHE KNIGHT WITH
BADLY MADE OOAT

ONE day when Arthur and his knights
were in the hall of the Round Table,
a young man entered. He was so large
that his shoulders were as wide as the
doorway, and he could hardly squeeze
through. The knights looked at him in
amazement, for he was almost a giant.

When he came closer to them, they saw
that he had on a coat which was far too
large for him. It hung in wrinkles and
folds all over his back, and the sleeves
were so long that he had to turn them up
almost to the elbow. The coat was of
rich material, gold cloth, but it was old
and blood-stained.

The young man strode up to the king
and said :

** My lord, my name is Brune. I can

^-

172 -^ feing attl^ttr

7r«/^i/ tell you no more than that. I beg you to
with the make me a knight."
Male At this Sir Kay laughed and said:
^^^^ '' He must be called The Knight with
the Badly Made Coat."

**Call me what you will," said the
young man. * ' Yes, I take that name, for
I will not tell my real one."

Then Arthur spoke to him gently:

* ' Young man, you ask a great thing.
All those in my Court who are made
knights must serve for a long time as
squires. If they prove themselves loyal
and brave, I make them knights. But I
must always know whence they come,
and who their fathers are."

' * My lord, " said the young man, * ' I do
indeed ask a great thing. I would gladly
tell you more of myself, but I am under a
vow to reveal no more than you already
know. Yet I will tell you this, further.
I am the son of a noble who was as big
as a giant. My good father was very
peaceable and did not care to fight; so
he never came to your Court, and you
did not hear of him. He lived at home
with my mother and me, and the simple

^

atm I^(j8 lixniQfyt^ ^ 173

people who plowed the land about our ^^. ^^
cattle. ^^/^

" Every one ought to have loved him ; j/^
but he had one enemy. One day, six ^^^^
years ago, when I was only a boy, my
father and I were in the forest. My
father was sleeping at the foot of a tree,
and I was bathing in a brook near by.
This enemy, who wanted my father's
lands, came up and drove his sword into
my father s heart. Then he rode away.
I ran up to my dead father and took oflF
the coat which he wore and put it on.
I swore never to take it oflF, and never to
tell my father's name or where I came
from, till I had avenged his death.

*'Then I rode home to our castle, but
our enemy had taken possession of it, and
had made my mother prisoner. As I was
not yet grown up I vowed that I would
stay with the good shepherds near by till
I was strong enough to pull up a young
tree by the roots. Then I would go to
King Arthur s Court and ask to be made
a knight. So every month I have tried
to uproot a young tree. This morning I
succeeded, and here, my lords, I am."

/

174 -^ fefng attl^ttr

Knight '^^^ knights were much moved and

with the prayed the king to make him a knight.

M^L They said that they would teach him to

^^^^ use arms. The king said that he would

wait to see what sort of man Brune was.

A few days after this all the knights
rode oflf to a tournament and Brune was
left at home with a few soldiers. He was
in the castle yard practicing some of the
lessons in warfare which the knights had
been teaching him. While he was hard
at work, Queen Guinevere with twelve sol-
diers who were her bodyguard passed by.

As she was speaking kindly to Brune,
they heard a terrible noise, and looking
in the direction from which it came, saw
a dreadful sight. A fierce lion which
had been confined in a tower of stone
had broken out of its prison and was
rushing towards them. The twelve sol-
diers fled, leaving the queen and Brune
alone.

* * Ah, " said Brune, ' ' not all the cowards
in the world are dead."

He stood still while the lion bounded
towards him. He had dropped his sword,
and as the beast leaped upon him, he

ann l^g ftirtjfttgg;-

^

king

touched

him

lightly

with his

sword**

/'

176 -^ feing attl^ttr

Knight s^^^^d ^^^ head in his hands. Then he

with the slowly, slowly, bent its head back. It

Male was a strong lion, and with the effort the

^^^^ muscles on Brune's neck stood out like

great ropes. Presently, the queen and

Brune heard a loud crack and they knew

that the lion's neck was broken. Brune

loosed his hold, and the huge tawny body

dropped to the ground, quivered a mo-

ihent, and was still.

While this was going on, the king and
his knights returned. They saw at a
glance what Brune had done, and cheered
him loudly. The king rode up to him.

** Kneel down,'' he said.

Brune knelt down by the body of the
lion, and the king touched him lightly
with his sword, saying :

'*Sir Brune, I make you a knight of
my Round Table. Be always loyal,
brave, and merciful."

Then all the knights were glad, but
Sir Brune was gladdest of all.

and INg ftitffii^tg :

5IB> LANOILOT

AFTER Sir Bnine, the Knight with
l\. the Badly Made Coat, had been at
Arthur's Court for some months, he be-
came eager to seek for the enemy of his
father. Sir Lancelot, who took an interest
in the big young knight, advised him to
wait c.::.d try his strength at some smaller
adventure first.

One day, when Sir Lancelot was away
hunting, a damsel entered Arthur's hall.
She carried a black shield which had
painted on it a white hand holding a
sword. She bowed to the king and said :

''My lord, I come for a knight to
undertake the adventure of the black
shield."

' 'And what is that adventure, fair dam-
sel?" asked the king.

12 [177]

n

178 -^ !fe(ng artl^ttr

Lancfiot '"That I may not tell you/' answered
and Sir the damsel, ''except that it will cause
^^^^ much fighting and bloodshed to the
knight who chooses it/*

Some of the knights were eager to go,
and Sir Kay pressed forward to finger the
shield. '

'*Do not touch it, good Sir Kay,'* said
the maiden, ' ' for this adventure is not for
you. I am to choose the knight.'*

She passed up and down the hall, look-
ing into the face of each one. When she
had seen them all she came back to Sir
Brune and said :

''Young Knight with the Ugly Coat,
will you take this shield?"

"Gladly, if my king allows," said the
knight.

Then Arthur gave his permission, and
Sir Brune followed the damsel out of the
hall. Her horse was black, and wore white
trappings. Sir Brune's horse was as
brown as an autumn leaf. The two
mounted and rode away. Sir Brune
began to talk to the damsel, whose name
was Elinor. At first she was agreeable,
but after they had ridden many miles

and l^(g Ifetifgl^tg afc. 179

^

she became ^ scornful, and told him she f^ , ,

' Lancelot

was sorry sne had chosen him. and sir

Sir Brune felt sad, because he had be-
gun to love the damsel. He was afraid
she did not like him because his coat was
poor. He did not speak to her any more,
but rode on sorrowfully beside her. After
a long time they came to a castle enclosed
by high walls. The gate stood open, and
the damsel Elinor pointed to it and said,
sighing :

' ' Since you have not left me as I hoped
you would, go in there. You will find
your first adventure. I may not tell you
what it is.'*

Sir Brune galloped inside the gate.
There he saw a hundred knights on horse-
back, armed and waiting for him. He had
to think and act quickly. So he decided
to rush in between the knights and put
his back against the castle wall. Then he
could fight with his back protected. He
did this, though not without receiving
some spear-wounds. Then he began to
fight.

The lady of the castle, whom the
knights were keeping prisoner, watched

^f

"^^

i8o -^ jKing ^tcmt

Brum

Lancfiot ^^ ^2^* ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ window, and grieved
««£;S>r for the brave young man who had so
many against him. She began to speak
to him in a low voice :

"Young knight, if you can only get to
the left side of the castle wall, there is a
secret door through which you can escape.
If you look, you will see that one portion
of the wall is made of black stones. Strike
the stones with the hilt of your sword, and
a door will open through which you can
ride out.*'

The other knights did not hear what
the lady said, for they were farther away
from her than Sir Brune was. Even he
could hardly catch her words. He took
a quick glance to the left and saw that
there was indeed a portion of the wall
marked with black stones. Then he be-
gan to work his way carefully towards
the secret gate.

He was obliged to move slowly for fear
the knights would guess what he was
doing. Moreover, it was becoming very
hard to fight, because of his many wounds.
However, he at last came near the door ;
then he backed his brown horse up

^

i8i '

and l^(g litiiQfyt^ ^

against it, struck the black stones with f^nce/oi^p^
the handle of his sword, and the door andStr
opened. The knights shouted with rage,
but they were unable to reach him in
time. Sir Brune escaped, leaving behind
him twelve men dead.

He was very weak, and he made his
way painfully to the side of the wall
where the maiden Elinor waited for him.
She ran to meet him, and led him gently
to a brook in a forest near by. There
she took off his armor and bathed his
wounds, anointing them with a precious
salve she carried.

Sir Brune thought that she was sorry
because she had been scornful of him,
and he began to talk to her. But she
said :

*' Do not talk to me. If you want to
please me, go back to Arthur's Court."

Sir Brune did not know why she spoke
so, but he was too tired to think. So he
lay down on the grass by the brook and
went to sleep.

Meantime, at Arthur's Court Sir Lan-
celot had returned from his hunting
expedition, and was told how Sir Brune

^

>/

182 ^ Mm 3itt]^ttt

LanJiot ^^^ gone out with a damsel on the adven-
at^sir ture of the shield.

' ' Oh ! '' cried Sir Lancelot, ' ' what have
you done ! He will surely be killed.
Merlin has told me what this adventure
of the shield is. Many and many a
knight has taken it up and each has been
killed. A knight who vows to follow this
adventure has to meet dangers of all
sorts. This young untried Sir Brune
will certainly be killed.*'

He called for his horse and arms, and
said to the king :

**My lord, I will ride after this poor
young man and give him what help I
can. Perhaps I shall be too late ; but if
not, I shall ask him to give me this ad-
venture of the shield.'*

Then Sir Lancelot mounted his horse
and rode after Sir Brune. When he
came near the brook where Sir Brune
and the damsel had rested, he heard the
sound of a great combat. Spurring for-
ward he saw Sir Brune, fighting single-
handed against six knights. Sir Lance-
lot rushed to the rescue and quickly over-
threw the enemy. He found that they

WlDJI^JItrtggWss' ^ 185

^

.^A Sir

L. Lancelot

belonged to the company of the hundred
knights whom Sir Bnine had attacked, an^^'sir
He ordered them, first of all, to free the
lady of the castle, and then to go to
Arthur's Court and surrender themselves
to the mercy of the king.

Poor Sir Brune was almost dead, but
Sir Lancelot revived him, and in a feeble
voice he thanked Sir Lancelot for his
help. But the damsel begged :

*'Take him back to the Court of your
king. I do not want him to follow this
quest any longer.*'

"This is surely ungrateful of you,"
said Sir Lancelot. '*He has fought
bravely and well."

''The maiden scorns me, though I
love her," bitterly said Sir Brune.

Then the damsel Elinor cried out:

" I will tell the truth. I love you and
I am afraid you will be killed. There-
fore, I wish you to return to Camelot."

Sir Brune was very glad, and he said :

"I have pledged my word and must
follow this quest. When I have suc-
ceeded we shall go together back to Ar-
thur's Court."

1/4 -^ JKing gittl^ur

•

z fi>?/ ' Give this adventure to me/' said Sir
^i?^/r Lancelot, ''and go back now with the
' damsel.

But Sir Brune refused. Then Sir
Lancelot said that they must undertake
the adventure together, and Sir Brune
consenting, they rode slowly forward.
Soon they came to an abbey, where they
rested for some days until Sir Brune was
well.

Then they traveled as the damsel gave
directions. She always knew what they
had to do. At times they passed through
woods full of wild beasts, some of which
attacked them. Again they passed over
enchanted meadows where wicked magi-
cians tried to cast spells over them. They
also fought with many knights. How-
ever, they escaped all dangers, although
it is certain that Sir Brune would never
have succeeded without the help of Sir
Lancelot.

At length the damsel Elinor told them
that they were nearing the last adven-
ture. She pointed to a castle on a hill ;
a square structure built of black stones,
with a turret on top. The damsel told

atih l^g »trtfii^tg g^ 185

^

them that at the gate of the castle were f'^^^^/^/
two huge dragons. These they must anifs/r
slay.

"Whose is the castle?' asked Sir Brune.

''It belongs now to the wicked Lord
Brian of the Isles," answered the damsel.

At this Sir Brune gave such a loud
shout that the dragons on top of the hill
heard him and roared in reply.

"Ah !" cried he, "that is the name of
my enemy, who killed my dear father.
At last I shall slay him."

He rode off so quickly that Sir Lance-
lot had much trouble to keep up with
him. It seemed scarcely five minutes
before they came to the dragons; terrible
• creatures, all of green, with eyes and
tongues of flame. And their wings were
as large as the sails of a ship.

Sir Brune had never before seen a
dragon, but he was not afraid. He fought
very bravely, and even when the teeth of
the dragons crunched on his helmet, he
did not lose courage. After a fierce fight
of half an hour, the two knights had
killed the dragons.

They hoped to rest, but at that moment

i86 ^ Mxvj, %vssm

Lancfiot ^^ castle gate opened and a porter ap-
and Sir peared.

''Enter and fight/' he said.

Both spurred forward, but the porter
said :

''One only may enter."

' ' Let me go/* said Sir Brune to Sir Lan-
celot. ** Remember I am to avenge my
father's death. It may be that Lord Brian
of the Isles is waiting just inside the
gate."

Sir Lancelot consented, and the porter
led in Sir Brune and locked the gate. In-
side were two great knights, the brothers
of Lord Brian of the Isles. They were
almost as large as Sir Brune. Together
they set upon him. He was already tired
from his fight with the dragons, but his
desire to avenge his father strengthened
his arm. One brother was soon over-
thrown. When the other saw that, he
yielded. Then Sir Brune sent them both
to Sir Lancelot outside the gate.

While Sir Brune was looking about him,
a third knight appeared at the qnd of the
courtyard. He was quite as large as Sir
Brune, and as he came spurring up, the

\

noise of his horse's hoofs was dea,iening:s^nce/o/
Sir Bnine recognized him as Sir Plenorius,
the cousin of Lord Brian.

' ' Ah ! '' cried he, ' ' where is that wretch,
Lord Brian? Am I to fight with all his
family before I meet with him?"

Sir Plenorius wasted no words. He
rushed upon Sir Brune and struck him
with his long spear. The blow broke Sir
Brune's helmet, and he had much trouble
to guard his head with his shield. He
fought courageously, but he became
weaker and weaker. Then Sir Plenorius
stopped fighting.

"I know you will never yield," he said.
"You are the bravest knight I have yet
seen. In truth, I loved your good father,
and grieved because my cousin slew him.
I have no love for my cousin. Lord Brian
of the Isles, but I am vowed to fight for
him as long as he lives, or until I am over-
come."

Sir Brune was about to answer, but he
fell back in a swoon. Sir Plenorius lifted
him gently in his arms and bore him into
the castle. He carried him up the wind-
ing stairs to the turret room, and gently

^

Lance/Tz/isiid him on a bed. Then he went back
"^^^r to the courtyard.

..- ^^^ Meantime, Sir Lancelot, hearing the
y porter shout that Sir Brune was killed,

beat on the gate, but nobody would let
him in. Then with great difficulty he
climbed the castle wall and leaped down.
Sir Plenorius was just about to care for
the horse of Sir Brune.

''Give me back my friend!'' cried Sir
Lancelot, fiercely. ' 'Where is my friend ?''

Then he began to fight with Sir Ple-
norius. Sir Plenorius was so much larger
than Sir Lancelot that he thought he
could easily overcome him. As the fight
went on, however, he found himself all
but defeated.

"Yield now to me,'* said Sir Lancelot.
"I am Sir Lancelot of the Lake.**

Then Sir Plenorius said:

"Ah, my good lord, I know of your
fame. If we go on fighting, you will
certainly kill me. Yet I do not want to
yield, so I ask you to treat me as I have
treated Sir Brune.'*

When Sir Lancelot heard how Sir
Plenorius had spared Sir Brune, he said:

aim 1^ ftirfgl^tg ^ 189

** You are a gentle knight I am sorry ^^^^^^
you are vowed to the service of Lord tf«^-S/>

Bthhc

Brian of the Isles. He shall surely
die."

Sir Plenorius answered:

"When he is dead, I will come to
Arthur's Court as one of his followers."

All this time Sir Brune was lying in
a swoon on the bed in the turret room.
But at last he came to himself and looked
about him. He saw near him his sword
and shield; so he lifted them up beside
him. As he lay still, trying to recover
his strength, he heard stealthy footsteps
coming up the turret stairs. They came
nearer and nearer. Suddenly, in rushed
Lord Brian of the Isles. He knew that
Sir Brune was there, alone and wounded,
and he intended to kill him as he lay
defenseless. Sir Brune understood this
and he cried:

'Ah, wretch, you were ever a coward.
You come to kill me as I lie wounded
here, just as you killed my poor father
while he slept But the sight of you
makes me forget my wounds."

At these words, and at the fierce rage

{t^

190 -^ fedtg girti^ttr

5/r which shone in Sir Bnine's eyes, Lord

and Sir Brian, who was indeed a coward, tried to

Brune ^^^^^^j^ g^^ gjj. Biune sptahg to the

doorway.

**You shall never go down by these
stairs, villain,'' he said, *'for I will kill
you ! "

Lord Brian rushed to the window and
sprang out upon the battlements. Sir
Brune followed him, though with diffi-
culty. The two began to fight, and Sir
Brune soon saw that his enemy was try-
ing to push him close to the edge of the
battlements, that he mi^fet fall down into
the courtyard below.

Sir Brune, at this, put himself behind
Lord Brian, determined to cast him off
instead. Slowly he pushed him, until
Lord Brian was but a step from' the edge.
Then Sir Brune lifted his shield and
struck his enemy with it. The wicked
lord lost his footing, and was dashed to
pieces at the feet of Sir Lancelot and Sir
Plenorius in the courtyard below.

They ordered his soldiers to bury him,
and while Sir Lancelot went to care for
Sir Brune, Sir Plenorius went down the

anP i^g »nf(fttg s

\^

from thv .

#

Lancelot 5^1 to find the damscl Elinor. She came
^^Bruif^^^^ with tears of joy to Sir Brune.

When Sir Brune was well enough to

y travel, he visited all the castles of Lord

Brian, in search of his lost mother. He
was very much afraid that she was dead,
but at last he found her alive, in the very
castle which had belonged to his father.
There was great joy at their meeting.
He took her to Arthur's Court, whither
Sir Lancelot had already conducted the
damsel Elinor. A few days afterward
Sir Brune and the damsel were married
amid great festivities.

and pg fewiQi^tig Bc

THE ADMSNTURE
OFXaNCr^LLENOBE

IN Arthur's Court, every knight or lady
who was found unworthy was ban-
ished; yet it often took some time to dis-
cover one's real character.

One of the ladies of Arthur's Court
•was named Vivien. She was very pretty,
and as graceful as a willow wand, and
so bright and attractive in her ways
that no one suspected her of being very
wicked.

Among Arthur's bravest warriors was
King Pellenore. He had once had a great
fight with Arthur, but after that they had
become friends, and King Pellenore had
been made a Knight of the Round Table.
He was not often at court, for he spent
much of his time seeking for adventures.

18

[X93]

^

194 ^ Mm Slrtl^tit

TAe Now and then he would return and put
ture of away his armor. Then he rode with the
Peu^- ladies or talked to the other knights.
^''''^ The lady Vivien admired King Pelle-
nore for his valor and his mighty deeds,
and whenever she could she talked with
him about his adventures. One after-
noon she begged him to go for a long
ride with her through the forest. So
their horses were brought and they set
forth. Just as they were passing a thick
part of the wood, a beautiful golden-
haired lady stepped out.

''Good sir knight,'' she cried to King
Pellenore, ' ' I ask your help. I am here
in the wood with the dear lord who is to
be my husband. He is sore wounded, for
an enemy crept up behind him as we
were riding to Arthur's Court, and thrust
a sword in his back."

Then King Pellenore turned his horse's
head toward the maiden.

'* Gladly will I help," he said; ''lead
me, maiden."

But Vivien called him back.

' ' Do not go with her, " she said. ' ' She
may be a witch. Ride on with me."

aim l^ig fetrtgl^tig ^ 195

"She is no witch, but a good maiden," ^;^^^.
said King Pellenore. tur^ of

Then the golden-haired lady spoke p^i^e-
again. "Oh, sir knight, help me ! I must *^^
go to Arthur's Court to see my father.
My dear lover is going to ask permission
to marry me. Help us or he will die."

"Assuredly I will help you, damsel,"
said King Pellenore.

Vivien held his arm, but he put her
gently aside. When the wicked woman
saw that he was going to leave her, she
made her horse plunge and throw her to
the ground. There she lay as if in a
faint.

King Pellenore did not know what to
do. He felt as if he must help the beau^
tiful lady, and yet he could not leave
Vivien. So he said :

"Fair damsel, you shall have my help.
I have never wanted "to aid any one so
much as I do you. I must save your lover
and bring you both to Arthur's Court.
But let me first ride back with this lady
who has swooned. Then I will return
here to you."

"Alas, alas, I fear it will be too late,"

nore

Adven- ^^^^^ ^^^ damscl, tumitig back into the
tureof forest.

/>///£ Then King Pellenore lifted Vivien on
her horse, and tied her to its back by her
long green scarf. At this she opened
her eyes and groaned, and said that she
was very sick. She made him ride very
slowly to the court.

King Pellenore did not talk to her.
He was thinking all the time of the
golden-haired maiden. As soon as he
reached the city gate he gave Vivien over
into the care of a knight who was pass-
ing, and galloped back to the woods.

When he reached the spot where the
beautiful damsel had spoken to him, he
timed into the thick part of the wood
and followed a narrow path. It was so
narrow that the branches of the trees on
both sides struck his shoulders, but still
he hurried on. The path ended in a
glade, and there he saw the lady and her
lover lying on the grass.

'*Alas, alas!** the lady said, **my dear
lord is dead and I am dying.*'

Then King Pellenore saw that the fair
young knight who lay on the ground

^

ann l^g ixniQfyt^ ^ 197

was very pale and quiet, and that all the ^^^^
grass about was blood-stained. ^r^ ^

' 'Ah, good knight, ' ' said the lady, ' * after pT/f^-
you left me, a lion ran out of the wood '''"^^
and slew my lover with one stroke of his
paw. He has wounded me so sorely that
I too shall die."

Then King Pellenore wept.

"I wish that I had made Vivien wait
here," he said, "and had helped you. I
fear I have done wrong."

He sat down and took her golden head
on his knee, and spoke to her gently till
she died. Then he put her body and her
lover's body on his horse, and walked be-
side them sorrowfully until he reached
Arthur's Court.

Near the great hall he met Arthur and
Merlin and several knights.

"I am a miserable man," he said.

Then the wise Merlin said : ** You are
more miserable than you know. This
beautiftd lady was your own daughter
who was stolen from you as a child.
Only lately she learned who her father
was. She was coming here to seek you."

Then King Pellenore wept loudly.

'•/<»

198 -g jittna gttftnt

nore

Adve^n- ''This is my punishment/' he cried,

tureof **for not aiding the maiden. The one

PeTd- who needs help most should be given it

first, and she needed it more than Vivien.

I am indeed punished.'*

''And you shall be punished yet more,"
said Merlin ; ''and in good time, Vivien
also for the part she took. Some day the
friend whom you most trust shall deceive
you, and you shall be betrayed to death."

King Pellenore bowed his head meekly.

"I have deserved it," he said. "And
now I must bury my dear child and her
lover."

The beautiful golden-haired lady and
her lover were buried with great mourn-
ing, and it was many a day before King
Pellenore cared to seek for adventures.

mh m^ HxtdQfyt^ ^

SIR LANCELOT was acknowledged
by all the knights of the Round
Table to be the bravest of their number,
and the one whom the king loved most.
He was not often at court, because he
was nearly always engaged in adventures
which took him away from the town of
Camelot. The knights were always sorry
when he went away, yet they were sure
he would return safely and with much to
tell them.

One day Sir Lancelot called his nephew
Sir Lionel, and told him to mount his
horse, for they must go to seek adven-
tures. Sir Lionel was very glad, for it

was a great honor to be chosen as a

[199]

/V/-

: 200 ^ Mng 9lrtl)ttr

.ilanceiot companioii by Sir Lancelot. They rode
^ ^^^ off through a deep forest, and then across
a wide, treeless plain. The sun was shin-
ing hot and bright, and when they reached
a clump of trees, Sir Lancelot bade Sir
Lionel dismount. Then the two sat in
the shade to rest.

It was not long before Sir Lancelot fell
asleep. While Sir Lionel kept guard, he
saw three knights furiously pursued by
another knight, who was very large. This
knight overtook the three knights, one
after another, and overthrew them, and
bound them by the reins of their bridles.
Sir Lionel, who was young and self-confi-
dent, thought that he would like to fight
with this knight. So he mounted his
horse very quietly without waking his
uncle, and rode into the plain.

When the big knight saw him coming,
he laughed and rode up quickly. At the
very first stroke, young Sir Lionel fell to
the earth. The strong knight bound him
fast to the other three knights and drove
them all to his castle. There he took off
their armor and clothes, and beat them
with thorny sticks. After that he threw

anti ^i^ jfenfgi^tg g^ 201

It

them into a deep dungeon where there f^^^^^^^
were many other knights. and His

Meanwhile Sir Hector, the foster father ^^^^ ^
of King Arthur, hearing that Sir Lance-
lot and Sir Lionel had gone in search of
adventures, determined to join them ; so
he rode hastily in pursuit. When he had
gone some distance through the forest,
he met a wood-cutter, and asked him if he
had seen Sir Lancelot and Sir Lionel.
The man replied that he had not.

"Then do you know of any adventure
which I can seek?'* asked Sir Hector.

The man answered :

**Sir, a mile from here is a strong
castle. On one side of it is a large stream,
and by that stream a large tree. At the
foot of the tree is a basin of copper.
Go and strike on that three times with
your spear and you will meet with an
adventure.'*

' ' Thank you heartily, *' said Sir Hector.

He rode on and soon came to the tree.
Hanging on it were a great many shields,
and among them Sir Lionel's. There
were also shields which belonged to other
Knights of the Round Table. Sir Hector

m.^

202 "^ Mng %x^vix

Lancelot ^^^^ that the knights must be prisoner3,
w^j and he grew very angry.

He struck sharply on the copper basin,
and at once a huge knight appeared.

''Come forward and fight!'* cried the
knight.

''That I will," said Sir Hector.

' ' But I shall win, " said the knight, ' ' for
I am the great Sir Turquaine.*'

Sir Hector had heard of this powerful
knight whom so many of Arthur's lords
had tried in vain to overthrow. But he
was a brave old man, and so he began to
fight fearlessly. He wounded the big
knight once, but the knight wounded
him many times, and at last overcame
him. He picked Sir Hector up and carried
him under his right arm into the castle.

"You are very brave," he said, when
they had reached the great hall. "You
are the first knight who has wounded me
these twelve years. Now I will give you
your freedom if you will swear to be a
follower of mine."

' ' I will never swear that, " said Sir Hec-
tor ; "I am a follower of King Arthur."

"I am sorry for that," said Sir Tuf-

gnu i^fg jfentg]^ti8 s;> 203

quaine, **for now I must treat you as I i^^^^i^^
do all my other prisoners." ^^"^

Then he took off Sir Hectors armor
and clothes, and beat him with the thorny
stick, and threw him into the dungeon.
There the old man found Sir Lionel and
many other knights.

'*Is Sir Lancelot here?" asked Sir Hec-
tor, feebly.

" No,*' said Sir Lionel, and told how he
had left Sir Lancelot sleeping.

Then Sir Hector became cheerful.

''Sir Lancelot will surely find us,'* he
said, ''and give us our freedom."

But Sir Lancelot still slept on under
the tree. Soon four beautiful ladies rode
by, and, seeing a sleeping knight, dis-
mounted to look at him. They at once
recognized him as Sir Lancelot, the
bravest knight in the land. One of these
ladies was Morgan le Fay, whom Arthur
had forgiven for her treachery to him.
She said to her companions :

"I will cast a spell over him, and we
will carry him to my castle. Then, when
he wakes, we will make him choose one
of us as his wife."

^^

204 ■^ Mng %x^vit

Lancfiot '^^^ othcT three agreed, and Morgan le
and His Fay cast her spell. Then the four women
lifted the knight upon his horse and went
with him to the castle of Morgan le Fay.
They put the knight in a richly decorated
chamber and left him.

In the morning he awoke and won-
dered where he was. Soon a fair damsel
entered with food, and he asked her to
explain how he came to be in that place.

''Sir, I cannot,'* she said. ''But I can
tell you this much : you are under a spell.
In twelve hours the spell will break, and
perhaps I can help you then.''

After the damsel had gone out, the
four ladies entered. They were clad in
most beautiful robes. One had on silk
that looked like the foam of the sea.
Another had on velvet that seemed like
moss from the forest. The third wore
satin that was the color of maple leaves
in autumn. Morgan le Fay wore a robe
that looked like a storm-cloud, and her
diamonds were like stars.

"Choose one of us for your wife," she
said, "and you shall be very happy."

But Sir Lancelot said :

^

aim l^g lisniQfyt^ ^ 205

"Fair ladies, I have no wish to marry, f^^^^^^
I would rather fight for my good King and His
Arthur who needs me."

At this the ladies were angry.

''You shall stay here till you choose,
they S£iid. "And if you will not choose,
then you shall die in prison."

They went out, and Sir Lancelot re-
mained alone all day. At dusk the fair
damsel came to him.

"My lord," she said, "the spell is
broken now, and I can help you. These
ladies are not kind to me, and I am going
to run away. I will take you with me on
one condition."

" Name it, damsel," he said.

"I am a kings daughter," she said.
" My father is King Bagdemagus."

* ' He is a good man, " Sir Lancelot said.
"I know him well."

"My father has been fighting in a
tournament," said the maiden, "and has
been overcome, with all his knights. He
feels very sad. Now, in two days there
will be another tournament at which he
must fight. If you help him, he wiU
surely win and be happy again."

W»l

206 -^ Ifefng %x^vix

Lancfiot "^ ^'^"^ gladly help him," said Sir

and His LanCClot.
FT'icftds

Then the damsel bade him walk softly
with her. She opened twelve great doors
one after another. Each had a lock with
a key so heavy that the maiden had to
use both hands to turn it. At last they
reached the courtyard, and there she gave
Sir Lancelot his horse and armor. She
also mounted a horse, and the two rode
away.

After riding all night, they came to
the court of King Bagdemagus. He was
overjoyed to welcome Sir Lancelot, for
well he knew that none could overcome
that good knight in combat. All day
there was music and dancing and feast-
ing. Sir Lancelot, however, could not be
merry. He kept thinking of his nephew,
Sir Lionel, and wondering where he was.

On the morning of the tournament
Sir Lancelot asked King Bagdemagus to
furnish him with a white shield, because
he did not want to be known. The king
did so, and also gave each of the three
knights who rode with him a shield
of the same color. Sir Lancelot went

atiD I^(j8 ^nigfyt^ ^ 207

with the knights into a little leafy wood f^^^^i^^
near the field where the tournament was and His

. 1 11-1 Friends

to be held.

Meanwhile King Bagdemagus rode to
the tournament with sixty men, and met
there the king of Northgalis with eighty
men. They began to fight, and soon
those on the side of King Bagdemagus
began to be worsted. Then Sir Lancelot,
with the three knights, dashed out of the
little wood and into the thick of the fight.

No one could stand against Sir Lan-
celot. One of King Arthur s knights,
Sir Modred, the brother of Sir Gawain
and Sir Gareth, was fighting against
King Bagdemagus. Not knowing who
Sir Lancelot was, he rushed upon him.
Sir Lancelot unhorsed him, but would
not hurt him, because he was a Knight
of the Round Table. Years afterward he
was sorry he had not killed him, for Sir
Modred proved to be a traitor to King
Arthur.

Sir Lancelot fought so well that, for
his sake, all the prizes of the tournament
were given to King Bagdemagus, who
was greatly rejoiced, and offered large

2o8 ^ fe(ng attl^ttt

L ncfue S^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Lancelot, and begged him to
anii ws be his guest for a time. But Sir Lance-
lot was so anxious to find out what had
become of Sir Lionel that he could not
remain. So the next day he set forth.

He rode back towards the clump of
trees where he had fallen asleep while
Sir Lionel kept watch. On the highway
he met a damsel riding on a white palfrey.

** Fair damsel," said Sir Lancelot, *'can
you tell me of any adventures here-
abouts? I am Sir Lancelot of the Lake."

'*Oh, Sir Lancelot," said she, **it is
indeed fortunate that you have come,
for there is here a knight named Sir
Turquaine who has put in prison many
of the Knights of the Round Table.
You shall fight with him for the freedom
of your friends."

Then she turned her horse, and Sir Lan-
celot gladly followed her. She brought
him to the tree on which hung the shields
of his brother knights. Sir Lancelot let
his horse drink a little water, and then he
struck on the iron basin at the foot of the
tree so fiercely that the bottom fell out.

No one appeared, however. Then he

anD Jj^ijS ftnfefttjS s

struck so
fiercely
the

bottom
fell out''

2IO -^

Mm 9itt^ut

Laiuelot
aim
Friend^

^eiot ^^d^ ^P t^ ^^ castle of Sir Turquaine.
i,His^ Near the gate he met the big knight. He
was on foot, driving his horse before him.
On the horse lay a knight, securely bound.
Sir Lancelot recognized him as Sir Ga-
heris, the brother of Sir Gawain and Sir
Gareth.

* * Put down the knight, '' said Sir Lance-
lot. ''Mount and fight."

' * Gladly, ' ' said Sir Turquaine. ' ' Before
long you will be sorry for your challenge. *'

Then the two rode at each other.
Their horses' feet beat the dust into
clouds, and they used their swords so
fiercely that their armor rang continually
like the clanging of heavy bells. They
fought until they were breathless, each
bleeding from many wounds. Then Sir
Turquaine, leaning on his sword, said :

' ' By my faith, never have I fought with
such a strong man before. I admire you,
and I would be your friend. You fight as
they say that knight does whom I hate
most in all this world. If you are not
that knight, I give you my friendship,
and shall free all my prisoners for your
sake.''

anP I^(j8 fenig]^tj8 s;> 211

''That is well said/' replied Sir Lance- f^ , ,

J Lancelot

lot '*Tell me who this knight is whom and His

1 . 1 ,, Friends

you hate so much.

' He is Sir Lancelot of the Lake. For
hatred of him, I kill or imprison all the
Knights of the Round Table whom I
can find/'

''Then let us begin to fight again,"
said Sir Lancelot, "for I am Sir ^Lancelot
of the Lake."

Then they struck at each other furi-
ously, and soon gave each other so many
wounds that the ground was covered with
blood. Sir Turquaine was a brave man,
but he was not so strong as Sir Lancelot.
After a long conflict he fell, mortally
wounded, to the ground. Then Sir Lan-
celot unlaced his helmet and eased him
as well as he could till he died. After-
wards he left Sir Turquaine, and went to
the porter who held the keys of the castle.

Sir Lancelot took the keys and un-
locked the doors of the prison. He led
the poor knights out into the daylight
and struck off their chains. Sir Lionel
and Sir Hector were overjoyed to see that
their deliverer was indeed Sir Lancelot.

Sir Each knight found his own armor in the
an/iiis armory, and his own horse in the stables.
Friends ^f^^j. ^^^ ^ Servant came with four

horses laden down with venison, and the
poor knights, who for a long time had
had nothing but bread and water, enjoyed
a good meal. Then Sir Lancelot rode
away in search of new adventures.

anP l^tg &irtc^tg Bp

HOW^SIRLANCEUyr
a^»MGDTH£ QUEEN

ONE day in May Queen Guinevere
invited ten ladies and ten knights
to ride a-Maying with her the next morn-
ing in the woods. So at the appointed
time they assembled, all dressed in green
silk and green velvet, the color of young
grass. The knights wore white plumes
in their helmets, and the ladies wore
white May -blossoms in their hair. They
rode oflf very happily, telling the king
that they would return before noon.

Now the good King Bagdemagus, for
whom Sir Lancelot had fought, had a bad
son named Sir Malgrace. For a long time
he had wanted to capture the queen and
carry her off to his castle. He had been
afraid to try, however, because of her
large bodyguard. All the young Knights
of the Round Table liked to ride with

["3]

''^ow Sir
-relot

^^^^^^ her and protect her. They took good
/saved care of all the ladies of the Court, but
Queen they loved the queen most.

When Sir Malgrace heard that the
queen was out a-Maying with only a few
knights, and these not fully armed, he
determined to take her prisoner. So he
called together eighty men-at-arms and
a hundred archers, and set out. Soon
he came upon her and her attendants.
They were sitting on a little hill, with
wreaths of flowers and leaves on their
arms and necks. Before they could rise
to their feet, Sir Malgrace and his men
dashed upon them.

''Traitor!" cried the queen. ''What
would you do?''

"I will carry you to my castle, fair
queen, '' he said. ' ' And never again shall
you go free."

"I will not go with you," said the
queen.

Then the ten knights drew their
swords and set on the hundred and eighty
men of Sir Malgrace. They fought so
well that they overthrew forty. Still,
they could do little against such num-

and I^(j8 UniQfyt^ ^ 215

bers, and soon all were wounded. When ^^ff^^
the queen saw this, she cried out : Sfj^^^

**Sir Malgrace, do not slay my noble Queen
knights, and I will go with you. I would
rather die than cause them further
harm."

The knights said that they wotdd
rather perish than be prisoners to Sir
Malgrace. However, upon an order from
their lord, the archers tied up the wounds
of the queen's followers, and put them on
horseback. Then the whole company
rode slowly towards the castle of Sir
Malgrace.

Sir Malgrace kept close to the queen
for fear she would escape. Once when
they were in a thick part of the wood he
rode ahead to break the branches so that
they should not strike her face. Then
the queen whispered to a little maiden
who rode near her :

'*If you can do so, slip away from the
company. You are so small that perhaps
they will not notice you. Take this ring
and give it to our greatest knight, Sir
Lancelot, and pray him to come and res-
cue me."

Lane _ . ~ ,

Frit

-: _:__ ^^ sir: ^sCirtSd

-. \L t::.* :e sere

-ri.*!. >ie r:!'! her
--^-T* ^ r^riT :: Sir

sojjcrec Sir
r ' <^x>i and
:;;?^ I would

Vd

rather see her safe here again than own ^^^f^^
all France." Saved

He put on his armor and mounted his Queen
white horse and rode oflF without delay.
The little maid led him to the place
where the ten knights had fought with
the hundred and eighty. From this
point he traced them by the blood on the
grass and on the road. At Icist he reached
the archers.

' * Turn back, " they said. * * No one may
pass here."

''That I will not," said Sir Lancelot.
** I am a Knight of the Round Table, and
therefore have the right of way through-
out the land."

At that they shot their arrows at him.
He Wcis wounded with many of them, and
his white horse was killed. Sir Lancelot
tried to reach the men, but there were
so many hedges and ditches in the way
that he could not. They hastened back
to tell Sir Malgrace that a knight whom
they had not succeeded in killing was
coming to the castle.

Sir Lancelot tried to walk, but his
armor was too heavy for him to carry in

w

2i8 -^ jfeing artl^ttr

How Sir his wounded state. He dared not leave

Lancelot r.ii.-ir i 11 1.

5az/^// any of it behind, for he would need it all
Queen in fighting. Just as he was wondering
what he could do, a carter passed him,
driving a rough wagon.

** Carter,*' said Sir Lancelot, '*let me
ride in your wagon to the castle of Sir
Malgrace.''

The carter was amazed, for in that day
a knight never entered into a cart unless
he was a condemned man going to be
hanged. Sir Lancelot, however, did not
stop to explain. He jumped into the
cart and told the driver to go quickly.

Some of the ladies of Queen Guine-
vere were looking out of their window,
and one said to her :

**See, my queen, there is a poor knight
going to be hanged.''

The queen looked out of the window
and recognized Sir Lancelot by the three
lions blazoned upon his shield. She was
overjoyed, and waved him a glad greeting
as he came up to the castle gate.

Sir Lancelot beat on the gate with his
shield, and cried :

" Come out, false traitor, Sir Malgrace;

ann l^g ixtiiQfyt^ ^ 219

come out and fight. If you do not, you ^^j5^
will be branded as a coward forever." ^^^^

At first Sir Malgrace thought that he Qu^^n
would keep his gates shut fast and not
answer the challenge. But in those days
it was a sign of great cowardice not to
accept a challenge. Moreover, since Sir
Lancelot had been able to reach the castle
in spite of the archers, he was afraid
other Knights of the Round Table might
do the same. Then they would besiege
him and force him to surrender. Still' he
was afraid to fight. So he went to Queen
Guinevere and said :

**Fair queen, remember how I saved
your ten knights when I could have killed
them. Now I am sorry I took you pris-
oner. I beg that you will go to Sir Lan-
celot and urge him not to fight. Then I
will entertain him in this castle with the
best I have, and to-morrow you shcdl ah
go back to the court."

Then the queen said :

*' Peace is always better than war. I
will do the best I can."

So she went down to Sir Lancelot, who
still beat upon the gate, and besought him

220 •ss

Mm artl^ttr

Lancfiot ^^ come in peaceably, for Sir Malgrace
Saved was sorrj for what he had done. Sir
Queen Lancelot was unwilling, for he knew that
Sir Malgrace was a traitor, deserving
punishment. Still, he could not refuse
the queen anything she asked him, and,
therefore, he entered the castle.

Sir Malgrace greeted him with polite-
ness, and served to him and to the others
of Arthur's Court, a great banquet. After
that, to the surprise of every one, he rose
and accused the queen of treason. All
the company was astonished. Sir Lance-
lot was very angry.

' ' If you say the queen is a traitress, *' he
cried, **you shall fight with me, although
you were afraid just now.''

'*I am not afraid to fight/' said Sir
Malgrace.

''When and where will you meet me
in combat?" asked Sir Lancelot.

'' In eight days," replied Sir Malgrace,
'4n the field near Westminster."

Sir Lancelot agreed to this. Then
Queen Guinevere rose with all her attend-
ants and went into the courtyard. Their
horses were brought them and they

mounted. Sir Lancelot was the last to ^^^fZ/
pass out of the banquet hall. As he was ^-^
going through the door he stepped upon qm^^
a trap which Sir Malgrace had prepared
for him. The trapdoor fell and dropped
him into a dark dungeon.

When the queen and her knights and
ladies had ridden out of the courtyard,
they noticed that Sir Lancelot was not
with them. They supposed, however, that
he had ridden oflf by himself, as was often
his custom, so they went without him to
Camelot, and told the king what had hap-
pened. He was very angry at Sir Mai-
grace's accusation, but he was sure that
Sir Lancelot would punish Sir Malgrace,
and so vindicate Queen Guinevere.

Meantime, the unhappy Sir Lancelot
lay bruised in the dungeon, feeling very
sure that Sir Malgrace meant to starve
him to death. He lay hungrv' and thirsty
for nearly two da\ s. Then Sir Malgrace
peeped in to see if he were dead.

**Ah, traitor:" cried Sir Lancelot. "I
shall overcome you yet/'

At that Sir Malgrace shut the trapdoor
hastily, as if he were afraid that Sir

V

222 •SS

Mng attl^ttr

How Sir Lancelot could leap up ten feet in the

Lancelot -i K -T

Saved air. That one look, however, cost the
Queen wlcked knight dear, for the daughter of
the porter saw him shutting the trapdoor,
and was curious to know who was in the
dungeon. So at night she opened the
trapdoor and let herself down by a rope.

When she saw Sir Lancelot she was
very sorry for him. He offered her much
money if she would free him. At last
she said :

' ' I will do it for love of Queen Guine-
vere and not for money.**

She let him climb up by the rope, and
took him out of the courtyard. He was
so sick that he went to a hermit's hut
and rested for several days. When next
Sir Malgrace looked into the dungeon he
heard no movement. Then he rejoiced
greatly, for he thought Sir Lancelot was
dead.

When the eighth day had come, all the
Knights of the Round Table assembled
in the tournament field and waited for
Sir Lancelot to appear. They all thought
he would surely come. But Sir Malgrace
rode jauntily about the field. Many of

V"'

the knights wondered at his courage, not ^^^'f'^'
knowing the reason for his confidence. Saved

The herald blew his trumpet once, but Queen
Sir Lancelot did not appear ; twice, and
still he did not come. Then up started
several knights and begged the king to
let them fight instead of Sir Lancelot.

"He has been trapped," they said, "or
he would be here."

While the king was hesitating whonr
to choose, in rode Sir Lancelot. He
dashed up to Sir Malgrace.

"Here I am, traitor," he said. "Now
do your worst."

Then they fought, but at the first
stroke Sir Malgrace fell to the earth.

"Mercy!" he cried, "I yield to you.
Sir Knight. Do not slay me. I put my-
self in the king s hands and yours."

Sir Lancelot was much vexed. He
wanted to kill Sir Malgrace for his
treachery, and yet, since the man had
asked for mercy, he could not. So he
said:

"What, coward, would you stop
already ? Shame upon you ! Get up and
fight"

^224 ^ Mm ^tt}^nv

"^^^nceiot '^ shall not rise unless you take me
Saved as oue who has yielded," answered the

Queen kulght.

Then Sir Lancelot said :

' ' Traitor, I make you this offer : I will
take off my helmet, unarm my left side,
and tie my left hand behind my back. In
that way I will fight with you/'

Upon hearing this. Sir Malgrace rose
to his feet, sure now of killing Sir Lan-
celot.

''My lord King,** cried Sir Malgrace,
''you have heard this offer. I accept.''

The king was very sorry that Sir
Lancelot had made the offer. However,
it was impossible to withdraw it. A
squire came and disarmed Sir Lancelot,
so that his head and left side were with-
out cover; and since he had only one
arm to fight with, he could not use his
shield.

Then Sir Malgrace dashed at him,
aiming for his left side. Sir Lancelot
waited till he was very near, and then
lightly stepped aside. Before Sir Mal-
grace could turn. Sir Lancelot lifted his
spear and struck his enemy such a blow

atiD l^fg ^nigfyt^ ^ 225 \

that he broke his breastplate and pierced ^^^^f^
his heart. .sv??/^^/

The body of Sir Malgrace was carried Queen
off the field and taken to the castle of
his good father; Queen Guinevere was
proclaimed innocent of treason ; and Sir
Lancelot was honored more than ever by
his king and his queen.

i^K^

1ft

w

ffg^r

^%i\\^ arti^ttr

EVERY year King Arthur's knights
held a grand tournament among
themselves, and contended in friendly
combat for a prize. This prize was a
diamond*

Once, in the early days of his king-
ship, Arthur was w^alking on a craggy
hill, wdien he came upon the skeleton of
a man who had once been a ruler. The
skull still wore a gold crowm set with
nine large diamonds. King Arthur took
the crow^n and had the diamonds unset
Each 3^ ear at the friendly tournament he
gave one of these diamonds as a prize.

There had been eight tournaments,
and at each Sir Lancelot had won the
diamond. The jewel that was to be given
as a piize at the ninth tournament was
the largest and most beautiful of all.

[236]

'lol

ant> l^te Ifenigl^tg ^ 227

Everyone, of course, expected that Sir |'^^^
Lancelot would win it, but only a few and
days before the contest he announced to
the king that he would not compete.

Then the queen was vexed, for she
loved Sir Lancelot more than all the
other knights, and it gave her great joy
to see him always successful in the tour-
naments. Therefore she urged him to
change his decision.

** My queen,'' he said, ''I told the king
I would not fight."

The queen replied :

** My advice is that you go in disguise.
The knights who contest with you do so
but half-heartedly, for they know your
great fame and feel sure of failure. If
they did not know who you were, they
would fight better and win more glory
for themselves. Then fight as a stranger
knight, and afterwards explain to the
king."

Sir Lancelot took her advice. He rode
away over the woods and hills till he
came to the castle of Astolat, where he
decided to stop and ask for a disguise.
He knocked on the gate, which was opened

F

■>

228 -^ Mng %x^vit

UJ^^cfiot ^y ^^ ^^^ dumb servant, and entered the
and courtyard. The lord of Astolat came to
meet him with his two sons, Sir Torre
and Sir Lavaine, and his beautiful daugh-
ter Elaine. The lord of the castle said :

' ' Fair sir, whoever you are, you are
welcome. You seem to me much like a
Knight of the Round Table. "

' ' That I am, '' said Sir Lancelot. ' 'Here-
after I will tell you my name ; at present
I wish to remain unknown. I must enter
the coming tournament as an unknown
knight, and I should like to leave with
you my great shield, for it is as well
known in Camelot as I. Will you keep
it and lend me another one?**

Then answered the Lord of Astolat :

' ' You may take the shield of my son
Torre. He was hurt in his first tourna-
ment, and has not been able to fight since.
My son Lavaine will gladly go with you
to the tournament. Perhaps,'* added the
lord, laughing, ' ' he can win the diamond,
and put it in his sister Elaine's hair.**

'* Nay, father, do not make me ashamed
before this noble knight,** said the young
Lavaine. '*I know I can never win the

anDJI^JIngj^sc- 229

V

diamond for Elaine, but I can at least do f^„^\i^^
my best to fight/' ^^.

"Gladly will I take you for a compan-
ion," said Sir Lancelot, ''and if you can,
win the diamond for this fair maiden."

''Such a diamond," said Sir Torre, "is
fit for a queen, and not for a simple girl."

Sir Lancelot smiled to himself. He
was sure that he should win the diamond.
Then he meant to give it with the eight
others to Queen Guinevere. He spoke
kindly, however, to the beautiful Elaine.

"In truth, this fair maiden is fit to be
a queen."

Then Elaine lifted her eyes and looked
at him. He was twice as old as she was.
His face was cut and scarred with wounds
which he had received in battle, but as
she looked at him, she loved him, and
felt that she would continue to love him
till the day of her death.

They went into the great hall where a
supper was laid. Sir Lancelot talked of
King Arthur and his goodness and all
his glorious deeds. Elaine thought that
even Arthur could not be so brave as
this wonderful lord. All night long she

^23o -^ Mng attl^ttt;

-^^ncfiot dreamed of him. In the morning she
"' and rose early and went down in the court-
yard where Sir Lancelot and Sir Lavaine
were mounting their horses.

** Fair lord/' she said boldly to Sir Lan-
celot, '*will you wear my token in your
helmet?"

Then said Sir Lancelot :

' ' Fair maiden, I have never worn favor
nor token for any lady in the tourna-
ments. This is well known to be my
custom.''

''But if you wear my token," she
said, ''there will be far less likelihood
of your being known by your fellow
knights."

"That is very true, my child," he said.
' ' Bring it to me. What is it ? "

She held it out to him ; it was a red
sleeve embroidered with pearls. Sir
Lancelot bound it in his helmet and said:

"I have never done so much before
for any maiden."

Then he and Sir Lavaine bade Elaine
farewell, and the beautiful maiden ran
up to the tower of the castle and watched
them from the window for a long time.

ant> W ^niQfyt^ i

staid
near it
all day
long
in the
turret "

w

^L nceiot ^^^^^ they were out of sight she asked
and the old dumb servant to carry Sir Lan-
^^^^ celot's shield to the tower. It was a large
shield of silver, with three lions emblaz-
oned upon it in gold and blue, but its
polished surface was covered with dents
and scratches. Elaine knelt before it, and
made a story for each scratch and mark,
picturing to herself the contests in which
the good shield had taken part. For
many weeks she stayed near it all day
long in the turret, watching for Sir Lance-
lot and her brother to return.

Meanwhile those two had ridden
lightly to Camelot, and when they were
almost there, Sir Lancelot told Sir La-
vaine his name. The young man was
astonished. He was very happy, too, to
think that he was a companion to the
great knight of whom he had heard so
often.

When Sir Lancelot and Sir Lavaine
arrived at the field where the tournament
was to be held, they stood looking at the
king, who sat upon the great carved
chair which had dragons' heads for the
arms and the back. On his red robe

^

ami ^^ iMiqM ^ 233

was embroidered a golden dragon, and a ^„^^/^^
golden dragon was also on his crown. ^.
Above him, set in a canopy, was the
ninth diamond. All about the king to
left and right were rows of ladies whose
robes gave to the pavilion in which they
sat the brilliant hues of the rainbow.

Sir Lancelot said to young Sir Lavaine :

"Look at the king. You think I am
great, but he is greater than I. I can
fight better than he can, but his soul is
greater than mine. Aim to become a
Knight of the Round Table, and follow
the example of goodness which Arthur
sets for his knights."

At this moment the trumi)ets blew as
a signal that the tournament was to be-
gin. The knights spurred their horses
forward, and in a moment their spears
and shields clashed. Sir Lancelot rode
lightly here and there, overthrowing
every one with whom he contested. All
wondered at the skill of this unknown
knight. Then Sir Lancelot's kinsmen,
his nephew, Sir Lionel, and others, were
angry and jealous.

"Our Sir Lancelot should be here,"

w

Lan\

234 ^ Mxv^ ^tt\^vix

^^ they said, ''to overcome this stranger
amf knight/'

'^Perhaps this is Sir Lancelot/' said
one. ''Two knights cannot fight so well
in this world. It must be Sir Lancelot/'

'* No, no," said the others; "Sir Lance-
lot would never wear a lady's favor, and
this knight wears a red sleeve embroid-
ered with pearls. Let us set on this man
and teach him that if Sir Lancelot is not
here, we, his kinsmen, will fight for his
fame/'

Then all together they bore down on
Sir Lancelot. His horse went down in
the shock, and he himself was wounded.
A spear had pierced his breastplate and
snapped off in his side.

Young Sir Lavaine rushed to help Sir
Lancelot. The great knight rose slowly
and, with the help of his friend, drove
back his kith and kin to the far side of
the field. Then sounded a great blare of
trumpets, and the king proclaimed the
stranger knight victor.

'Xome forward," the herald cried,
* ' and take your diamond."

But poor Sir Lancelot said :

atiD l^(g ixnigfyt^ ^ 235

"Talk not to me of diamonds. Give f^^^^i^^
me air. I fear me I have received my and
death wound. Let me go hence, and I
bid you follow me not."

Sir Lavaine helped him upon his horse,
and they two rode slowly off the field.
When they were near the neighboring
forest the great knight fell from his
horse and cried :

*'Pull forth the spear-head which is in
my side.''

''Oh, my lord,'* said Sir Lavaine, ''I
am afraid you will die if I draw it forth.''

''I shall die if you leave it," said Sir
Lancelot.

So Sir Lavaine drew it forth quickly,
causing Sir Lancelot to faint from the
pain. Then a hermit who lived near by
came to them, and bore the wounded
knight into his hut, where for many a
week Sir Lancelot lay between life and
death.

When Arthur found that the unknown
knight had gone, no one knew whither,
he was sorry. He called the light-hearted
Sir Gawain and said to him :

'* Go forth, take this diamond and seek

r

236 ^ Mm ^ttlnnv

Lancf/% *^^ stranger knight. Do not cease from
and your search till you have left the diamond

Elaine . 1.1 1 *>

m his hand.

Then Arthur went to the queen. She
had been ill and had not attended the
tournament. When the king told her all
that had happened, she cried :

' 'A stranger knight ! My lord, my lord !
That was our dear Sir Lancelot. He was
fighting in disguise.''

''Alas! he is hurt/' said the king.
"Perhaps he is dying. He said that he
would not fight. He should have told
me that he meant to fight in disguise.
The truth, my queen, is always best."

"Yes, my good lord, I know it," she
said. " If I had but let our Lancelot tell
the truth, perhaps he would not have
been wounded. You would have called
on his kinsmen to cease."

For many days the king and Guine-
vere waited in deep anxiety for news of
Sir Lancelot. Meantime, Sir Gawain
rode forth and sought for the great
knight in vain. At last he came to the
castle of Astolat, where he was welcomed
by the lord and Sir Torre and the fair

Elaine. He told them the result of the f^^^^i^^
tournament, and how the stranger knight ^^^.
had won. They showed him Sir Lance-
lot's shield.

'*Ah!'' said Elaine, when he had told
them the name of the unknown knight,
**I knew that he must be great. *'

Sir Gawain guessed by the expression
of her beautiful face that she loved Sir
Lancelot. So he said :

' ' Fair maiden, when he returns here
for his shield, give him this diamond,
which is the prize he won. Perhaps he
will prize it the more because you put it
into his hand."

Then Sir Gawain bade them farewell
and rode off, lightly singing. When he
told Arthur what he had done, the king
said :

''You should have done as I bade you,
Gawain. Sir Lancelot deceived me about
his disguise, and you have disobeyed me.
The kingdom will surely fail if the king
and his rules are not honored. Obedience
is the courtesy due to kings."

Meanwhile the fair Elaine went to her
father and said :

r

238 ^ Mm ^vt\iuv

LanJiot *'Dear father, let me go and seek the
and wounded Sir Lancelot and my brother/'

' ' Nay / ' said the lord, ' ' it is not a fitting
thing for a young maiden like ypu to seek
a wounded knight. He is not your lover.
It cannot be.''

"I would give him his diamond," she
said, * ' and since he is so sorely wounded,
I would take care of him. It is not fitting,
my father, but I cannot live unless I
know where he is and how he does."

Then, because he loved his child very
much and had never refused any request
she made of him, the old lord let her go
in care of Sir Torre. The two rode for a
long time, until at last, near Camelot,
they met Sir Lavaine. Elaine ran up to
him and cried :

'* Lavaine, take me to Sir Lancelot."

Sir Lavaine was much astonished that
Elaine knew the name of the stranger
knight. He was glad to see her, because
he thought she could help his friend. Sir
Lancelot seemed glad to see her, too, and
the beautiful maiden cared for him so
tenderly that the old hermit said he never
could have recovered without her nursing.

^

anH l^(g limiQfyt^^ 239

When he was well enough, they all rode f^^^^^^^
to the castle of Astolat. and

There Sir Lancelot remained for a few
days; then he took his shield and prepared
to return to Camelot. Before he went he
asked Elaine if he could not do something
for her in return for her care of him.

She grew very pale and then she said:

** I am going to say something which I
should not. I love you. Take me with
you to Camelot."

Sir Lancelot said very gently:

" My poor little maiden, if I had meant
to take a wife, I should have wedded
earlier. All the court knows that I love
only the king and the queen. You do not
really love me. Some day you will marry
a young knight, and then I shall give you
many castles and much land as a dowry."

"I will have nothing of all that," said
Elaine.

She turned away and climbed up to
the tower, while her father said to Sir
Lancelot :

"I pray you, be discourteous in some
way so that she will cease to love you.
Such love is madness."

p^

240 ^ Mti^ gtrtl^ur

Lancelot '^^ ^^ ^^* ^y habit to be discourte-
w ous, ' ' said Sir Lancelot. ' ' However, when
she stands at the turret window to wave
me farewell, I will not look up at her."

Sir Lancelot rode sadly away, and did
not look up at the window where Elaine
stood. She watched him till he disap-
peared, and then she fell in a swoon. Day
after day she pined away, and one morn-
ing she said to her father :

* * Dear father, I am going to die. When
I am dead, take my bed and cover it with
rich draperies. Then dress me in my
most beautiful clothes; put a letter I
have here in my hand, and lay me on
the bed. Set it on a barge, and let our
dumb servant steer it down the river to
Camelot.''

Her father wept, and promised to do
all that she asked.

Sir Lancelot had gone to the Court,
where he was received with great rejoic-
ing. For many days the knights and
ladies held great feasting in his honor,
and the king and the queen would hardly
allow him to leave their presence. One
day while the three stood looking out of

}

anp l^(g ftn(fi]^tg s:> 241

the palace window, they saw a ^^^^^ i^^ceiot
barge come slowly down the river. ^nd

It stopped at the palace door, and the
king, going down, saw on it the beautiful
maiden Elaine, pale in death. She was
dressed in white satin, and bore a lily in
her left hand and a letter in her right.
The king ordered two of his knights, the
good Sir Galahad and Sir Perceval, to
carry Elaine into his great hall. Then
Arthur read the letter, which said :

"Most noble lord. Sir Lancelot of the
Lake: I, Elaine, the maid of Astolat,
come to take my last farewell of you, for
you left me without a farewell. I loved
you, and my love had no return, and so I
died."

The knights and ladies wept. Sir
Lancelot said to Arthur :

''My King, I grieve for the death of
this maiden, but as I did not love her, I
could not wed her."

The king answered :

"You are not to blame. Sir Lancelot.
The world has in it much that is sad as
well as much that is joyous. There are
happenings for which no human being

16

^/': can be blamed. It would be a fitting

Laticelot ^ ^ ^ .^ -1-11. .-1

and deed, however, if you had this maiden
' '"''"^ richly buried/'

Sir Lancelot ordei;ed a splendid fu-
neral, such as should be given to a queen.
Over Elaine's grave was raised a beauti-
ful tomb on which was carved her figure,
with the left hand holding a lily ; at her
feet lay the shield of Sir Lancelot, and
the sad story of her death was written
on the tomb in letters of gold and blue.

anp f(g fenigl^tg B;-

rtHE 3£ARCH FC»& Tili I

ji>.Vr--iij_l

IN Arthur's Court there were many vir-
tuous knights and ladies, but the best
of all was a beautiful maiden, sister to
Sir Perceval. She was so good that the
evil in the world oppressed her, and she
could be happy only when she was pray-
ing for all people to be made better.

Once a good old man told her what
was meant by the Holy Grail.

''Grail,'' he said, '4s the word for the
cup out of which, our Lord Jesus drank,
the night that he held the last supper
with his disciples. Therefore, it is called
holy. There is a tradition which says
that for a long time after the death of
Christ the Holy Grail remained on earth,
and any one who was sick and touched
it was healed at once. But then people

[243]

244 ^ jKfttg artl^ttt;

Sear% grew to be so wicked that it disappeared
Ar M^ from earth. It is said that if a person in
GrJi our day were only .good enough, he could
see the Holy Grail/'

"Really see it?*' asked the maiden,
eagerly, *'or see it in a vision?'*

''I do not know,'' answered the good
old man, ''but either one would be a great
happiness. For a real sight of it, or a
vision, would show the person who saw
it that he was sinless."

Then the beautiful maiden prayed
more than ever. She became so thin and
pale that it seemed as if she were, almost
transparent, and at last she lay dying.
One morning she sent for her brother.
Sir Perceval, and for his friend, Sir
Galahad.

Sir Perceval and Sir Galahad were the
two best knights in Arthur's Court. They
were not so powerful as Sir Lancelot or
Sir Geraint or Sir Gareth, but they had
purer souls than these. When they came
to the bedside of the maiden, she said :

' ' Oh, my brother and my friend, I have
seen the Holy Grail. Last night I was
awakened by a sound like the music of a

and l^(g limiQfytfi ^ 245

silver horn across the hills. It was more ^^^^
beautiful music than any I have ever /^^^
heard. Then through my window shone Gr^7
a long cold beam of silver light, and
slowly across that beam came the Holy
Grail. It was red like a beautiful rose,
and the light reflected from it covered all
the walls with a rosy color. And then
it vanished. Now I beg you to seek it ;
and go to the hall of Arthur and tell all
the other knights to take the quest. If
they can but see the Grail, it will be a
sign that they are good, and that the
world is growing better."

As she spoke. Sir Galahad's face wore
an expression so like her own that Sir
Perceval was amazed. But the maiden
took from the side of her bed a sword-belt,
and gave it to Sir Galahad.

' ' Fair knight, " she said, ' ' I have made
this golden belt of my hair, and woven
on it, in crimson and silver thread, the
device of the Holy Grail. Put on this
belt, bind your sword to it, and go forth ;
for you, too, shall see the Holy Grail."

Then Sir Galahad and Sir Perceval
went away quietly, for they saw that the

246 ^ JK(ng artl^ttt

Selr% t>eautiful maiden had not long to live.

for the That night they went to Arthur's hall.
GrJi The king was absent with the queen, but
most of the Knights of the Round Table
were there, and to them Sir Galahad and
Sir Perceval told the vision that Sir Per-
ce vaFs sister had seen.

As they spoke, suddenly the torches
in the hall were extinguished ; there was
a loud sound like thunder and a sudden
cracking of the roof. Then a beam of
light, seven times stronger than day,
streamed into the room. Across the beam
stole the Hol}^^ Grail. But it was covered
by a luminous cloud, so that its shape
could not be seen. Slowly it vanished
away.

There was silence in the hall for a
long time ; the knights were awe-struck
and could not speak. At last Sir Per-
ceval rose in his seat and said in a low
tone:

' * My sister saw the vision of the Holy
Grail, but I, because I am more sinful,
have seen it covered with a cloud. Yet
because I wish to see it, I vow to spend
twelve months and a day in search of it.

anti l^(g jKn(g]^tg s;> , 247

I will pray, and live as holy a life as I can, ^/^^^
and perhaps this vision will be mine/' for the

Then good Sir Bors, the cousin of Sir clati.
Lancelot, made the same vow, as did
also Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot and Sir
Gawain and many others. After the vows
had been taken, King Arthur entered.
When all had been explained to him, his
face grew sorrowful.

"If I had been here," he said, '*I
should not have allowed you to swear
the vow. None of you really saw the
Grail; you say it was covered with a
cloud."

Then Sir Galahad cried out :

" My King, I saw the Grail, all crimson
like a ruby, and I heard a voice which
said, 'O Galahad, O Galahad, follow
me!"'

"Ah, Galahad," said the king, ten-
derly, "you are fit for this quest, this
search, but the others are not. Sir Lan-
celot is our strongest warrior, but he is
not like Sir Galahad. Most of you, my
knights, are men with strength and will
to right wrongs ; that is the work you are
fitted for. You have fought in twelve

248 ^ Mm 9ivtiim

SelJch 2^^^* battles with the heathen, but only
for the one of you is fit for this holiest of visions.
GrJi Yet go, and fulfill your vow."

The faces of the knights were down-
cast. The king continued :

"While you are gone, I shall need
your strength here at home, but you will
be following a wandering fire. Many of
you will never return.'*

All the company felt sad. The next
day when the knights departed upon
their quest, the king could hardly speak
for grief, and many of the knights and
ladies wept. Those who had sworn the
vow went together to the great gate of
the city of Camelot, and there they sepa-
rated.

During the next twelvemonth many
a poor laborer who had been wronged
came to Arthur's Court to find a knight
who would fight for him, and many a
poor widow and maiden. But because
so many of the Knights of the Round
Table were absent there was little help
to be had, and Arthur's face grew sadder
and sadder as time went on.

At last, after the twelvemonth and the

anP ^ifi Ifeirtgl^tg ^ 249

day had passed, those in Camelot began J^^^^
to look for the return of the knights who ^^/^^
had taken the vow. Alas, though they Gra/i
waited all day long, only Sir Gawain,
Sir Bors, Sir Perceval, and Sir Lancelot
returned. In the evening the Knights
of the Round Table assembled in the
great hall. When each was seated, the
king rose, and said to those who had
been upon the quest :

'*My lords, I need only look at your
faces to know that you have fared ill.
I dare not think of those of you who have
not come back. And now, Perceval, my
knight who, next to Galahad, has the
purest soul, tell me what has happened
to you."

Sir Perceval rose slowly from his chair
and said :

*'Dear my liege, when I left your
court on the sad morning that we all set
forth, I did not feel the grief that many
of the other knights felt. I had been
fighting so well, so many lances had gone
down before my stroke, that I was full
of confidence in what I could do.

''I rode happily, planning all the great

TAe victories I should win. I was sure if I

Searc/t

for the righted a great many wrongs, I should
GrJi soon see the Grail. But after many days
I began to grow weary. I was riding
through rough forests, and the branches
bruised me and my horse ; there seemed
to be no great deeds to do. I could not
even slay wild beasts, and so be of use
to the poor country people. My bed was
on the hard ground, and my food was
wild berries.

* * One day I came to a great castle, and
here I decided to rest. When I entered,
I was warmly greeted and brought to the
princess of the castle. I found her to be
one whom I had loved long. ago in her
father s court. I was but a young squire
and she was a great princess, and so I
had gone away without telling her how
dear I held her.

''She greeted me kindly, and after a
time she began to love me. Soon I won-
dered whether I was fit to see the Holy
Grail. I thought perhaps I was one of
those who were pursuing a wandering
fire. And then the people of the castle
begged me to marry their princess, and

anDJIgJMgJ^^ 251

be their lord and live a happy and easeful ^^^^
life. ^r/'^

Holy

' * One night I awoke, and thought long- Graa
ingly of the Holy Grail. Whether I were
fit to see the vision or not, I had at least
sworn to seek it for a year and a day.
And yet, 1 had not tried two months !
I rose hastily, dressed, and left the cas-
tle. Then for many days I prayed
and mourned. At last I sought a holy
hermit, and told him all I had done
and thought since I had left Arthur's
Court.

' ' The good hermit, after a short silence,
said : ' My son, you have not true humil-
ity. You have been too proud of your
strength, and too sure in the beginning
that you were fit for the vision. You
have always thought first of yourself and
your own glory, and not of the good you
could do.'

"I went into the chapel of this hermit,
and prayed to be relieved of the sin of
pride. As I prayed, Sir Galahad entered.
He was clad in silver armor, and his face
looked like that of an angel.

'' ' Oh, my brother,' he said, 'have you

Se^cA ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Grail?' And after I had

/ortAe answered, he said :

Gr^at/ '' 'From the moment when I left the
court of our king, the vision has been with
me. ^ It is faint in the daytime, but at night
it shines blood red. I see it on the moun-
tains, and in the lakes, and on the marshes.
It has made me so strong that everywhere
I am able to do good. I have broken
down many evil customs. I have fought
with pagan hordes and been victor, all
because of this blessed vision. Perceval,
I have not long to live. I am going to
the great city above, which is more beau-
tiful than any earthly city. Come out
with me this night, and before you die
you shall see this vision. '

''Then I followed Sir Galahad out of
the chapel. We climbed a hill which was
steep and rugged. Sir Galahad going first,
and his silver armor guiding me. When
we came to the top, a storm broke over us,
and the lightning seemed to follow us as
we descended the hill on the other side.
At the bottom of it there was a great
black swamp, leading to the sea. It was
crossed by a huge bridge built by some

anP W Jfentgl^tg Bp

254 ^ ^im ^Vtl9UV

Se^J'ch forgotten king. Here Sir Galahad left

for the me and ran over the bridge till he reached

GrJi the sea. His armor shone like a star, far

away at the edge of the water. And then

I saw him no more.

' * I knelt on the black ground and wept,
and wished that I were as good as Sir
Galahad, and could do deeds as he did,
not to win glory, but to help those who
needed help. And as I wept, I was aware
of a great light over me. I looked up and
. saw a silver beam, and across it slowly
moved the Holy Grail. It was no longer
muffled in a cloud, but shone crimson as
a ruby.

''I made my way back to the chapel
and prayed all the rest of the night. In
the morning I found Sir Galahad's body
by the sea. He was beautiful as a saint,
though he was worn and thin from long
self-sacrifice. I buried him and then
turned my steps to Camelot.

''And now, my lord Arthur, I shall
never fight again. I shall become a
monk and pass my life in prayer as my
sister did. Among my brother monks,
there will be very many little deeds of

service I can do. Thus will I spend my Jj^/^^;^
life." f^r^the

All the knights were very much moved Graii
and the king looked affectionately at Sir
Perceval, but he did not speak to him.
He turned to Sir Gawain and said :

''Sir Gawain, was this quest for you?''

Then Sir Gawain, always light-hearted
and easily turned away from one thing
to another, said :

** Nay, my King, such a search is not
for one like me. In a little time I became
tired. I talked to a holy man who told
me that I was not fit for such a vision.
So I journeyed till I came to a field with
silk pavilions and very many knights and
ladies. And with them I lived happily
for the year."

The good king looked displeased, but
his face grew tender as he turned to Sir
Bors.

''Bors," he said, ''good, faithful, and
honest you have ever been. Tell me
what you have seen."

Sir Bors, who stood near Sir Lancelot,
said:

"My lord Arthur, after I had started

256 -^ Mng artl^ttt;

e, ^^f on the quest, I was told that madness had

Search - -- ^ - . o.. x -i

/^rM^ fallen upon my kinsman, Sir Lancelot.
GrJi This so grieved me that I had but little
heart to seek for the Holy Grail. Yet I
sought for it. I believed that if God
meant me to see the vision he would
send it.

* ' I traveled till I came to a people who
were heathen. They knew much of
magic, but nothing of God. I stayed
with them, and tried to teach them our
faith, but they were angry because I
would not believe in their gods, and they
put me into prison.

' ' I was there many months in darkness
and cold. But I tried to be patient, and
prayed that my patience would count for
something, although I could not do any
good deeds. I had at least been faithful
though I failed.

''One night a stone slipped from my
prison wall, and I could see a space of
sky, with seven stars set across it. Then
slowly across the space glided the Holy
Grail. My happiness was great, for I had
seen the vision.

''The next morning, a maiden who

had been secretly converted to our relig- ^^^^
ion released me from prison, and I came ^^/^
hither." Grai/

Then the king spoke to Sir Lancelot.

*' My Lancelot, the mightiest of us all,
have you succeeded in this quest?"

Then Sir Lancelot groaned.
* ' O, King ! " he cried, ' ' your mightiest,
yes ; and yet, far better it would be if I
were like Sir Galahad. A great sin is on
my soul, and it was to be rid of this sin
that I undertook the quest of the Holy
Grail. A hermit told me that, only by
putting this sin away should I ever see
the vision. I strove so hard against it
that my old sickness came upon me. I
became mad, and rode up and down
among waste places, fighting with small
men who overthrew me. The day has
been when the very sound of my name
would have made them tremble.

''At last I came to the sea and saw a
boat anchored near the shore. I stepped
into it, loosed the anchor, and floated
away. For seven days I sailed, and at
last I came to an old castle. I entered
and heard a voice singing. I followed it

17

258 ^ Mm artl^ttr

se^a ^P' ^P ^^^ ^ thousand steps. At last I
/^r /^^ came to a door, which burst open before
Graf/ me. Perhaps I dreamed, and yet I believe
I saw the Holy Grail, though it was veiled
and guarded by great angels. I thought
I saw all this, and then I swooned away.
When I came to myself, I was alone in
the room. It was many days before I
made my way back to Camelot."

For a long time there was silence in
the hall, and then Sir Gawain said :

'^Sir King, I can fight, and I always
shall fight for you. But I do not believe
in this vision. All the knights were mad,
like Sir Lancelot. They did not really
have the vision ; it was but fancy.*'

Then the king spoke gravely to Sir
Gawain.

''Sir Gawain, you are indeed not fit
for such a vision, but you should not
doubt that others have seen it. I was
right, my knights, when I said that most
of you would follow a wandering fire.
How many of those who left me have
not returned, and never will ! ''

The knights looked at the empty
chairs. The king went on :

aim l^(g imiQfyt^ ^ 259

''Sir Galahad was the only one who P^ ,

11' 1 . . XX Search

completely saw the vision. He was for the
indeed blessed, and fit for such a quest, a^raii
You who were unfit should have stayed
with me to help govern this land/'

The knights were silent and sad ; then
the king said :

'* My dear knights whom I love,
always remember this : whether you seek
for a vision, or do humble service as Sir
Perceval will for his fellow-monks, or
fight to right wrongs as Sir Lancelot
does, whatever you do your aim must be
to make yourself useful to the world by -
the work for which you are best fitted."

The king rose from the Round Table
and left the company, Sir Lancelot fol-
lowing him. Then the other knights
departed, one by one, and the great hall
was left empty, with its shields glimmer-
ing in the moonlight.

^ Mm 3lttl^ttg

THEBK^mi
OrAFTHUR)

KING ARTHUR^S Round Table had
lasted many years, and the knights
had done much to help the people of the
country; yet there were traitors to the
king among his own subjects. One of
these traitors made war in a distant part
of the kingdom, and' Arthur went with
most of his knights to punish him. His
nephew. Sir Modred, the brother of Sir
Gawain and Sir Gareth, ruled in his stead
at Camelot.

Now Sir Modred was a wicked knight.
He hated the king and the queen, and
Sir Lancelot. Since King Arthur was
absent a long time. Sir Modred had the
opportunity of doing much harm. He let
evil go unpunished ; he allowed bad cus-
toms to come into the country ; and at

[a6o]

last he raised a rebellion against the good ^^^^^ .

king. Arthur

When Arthur returned to Camelot to
quell this rebellion, he had lost many of
his faithful knights. Sir Hector was
dead, and Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias ; Sir
Kay was dead, and Sir Bors, and Sir
Gawain. Sir Lancelot was far away.
Sir Bedivere alone remained of those
who had been with Arthur since he had
first ruled in Wales and Britain.

The king and Sir Bedivere, with the
help of such knights as still were faithful,
tried to put down those rebels. They
drove the traitors back until they came
at length to Lyonnesse by the sea. Here
the last great battle took place.

The night before the battle, Sir
Bedivere heard the king praying. Then
Arthur slept, and when he awakened he
called to his friend :

''Sir Bedivere," he said, ''I have had
a dream. I thought that Sir Gawain
came to me and told me that to-morrow I
should die."

''My lord, it is but a dream," answered
Sir Bedivere. ' ' You are great ; you have

262 ^^^xg^^nt

Death^} d^^^ much good which will last forever,
Arthur and you will live many years yet to per-
form many gracious acts. The day will
soon dawn, and you will win the battle/'

Arthur shook his head.

''This is not like my other battles. I
have no heart for it. It is hard to slay
my own people, even if they are traitors."

Day came, but no sun. A cold white
mist lay over land and sea. It chilled
the knights to the bone. And when the
battle began, the mist was so thick that
no one could see with whom he was
fighting. Friends slew each other, not
knowing whom they killed. Some could
not fight at all, for it seemed to them that
those moving on the battle-field were
ghosts of warriors long since slain. There
was many a noble deed and many a base
one done in that mist.

The fighting went on with clashing of
lances and shields throughout the after-
noon, and then th^ sounds grew fainter,
till there was silence. At last, towards
sunset, a wind from the west blew the
mist away. Then Arthur, with Sir Bedi-
vere by his side, looked over the field of

aim l^(g &n(g]^tg ^ 263

battle. He saw but one man standing; ^f^^^^f
all the rest were dead on the seashore. Arthur
And the tide had risen, and was swaying
the helpless hands, and tumbling up and
down the hollow helmets and the broken
spears that once had fought with Rome.
The king's face was white, and his voice
was low as he said to Sir Bedivere :

''There lie my slain, who have died
for me. I am king only of the dead."

' * Nay, lord, '' said Sir Bedivere. ' ' You
are king everywhere still. Now strike a
kingly stroke against the one traitor who
still stands."

Sir Bedivere pointed at the one other
living man, and the king saw that it was
Sir Modred. Arthur threw down his
scabbard and lifted his good Excalibur.
Then he sprang upon the traitor. Sir
Modred struck the king on the helmet,
which had been worn thin in many battles.
The stroke cut through the steel, and
wounded Arthur mortally, but he used
his ebbing strength for one last blow with
Excalibur, and killed Sir Modred.

The king sank to the ground, but Sir
Bedivere lifted him, and bore him to a

264 ^ Mm ^VtJjUV

Death^o} ^^i^^d chapel near the seashore. When
Arthur he had laid him down by the broken
cross in the chancel, Arthur said :

''You know well that my Excalibur
was given to me by the Lady of the Lake.
I have used it like a king. And now the
time has come to obey the writing on the
blade. So take my sword Excalibur, and
throw it far out into the lake."

Sir Bedivere took the sword and went
out from the ruined chapel. He walked
amid the graves of ancient knights over
which the sea wind was singing. He
passed the barren cliffs and chasms, and
reached the lake at last.

He lifted Excalibur, and as he did so
the moon came from behind the clouds.
The light fell on the hilt of the sword,
and all the jewels shone. Sir Bedivere
looked until his eyes were dazzled; he
could not throw the beautiful weapon
away. So he hid it in the weeds upon
the shore of the lake, and returned to
the king.

''What did you see or hear?" asked
Arthur.

Sir .Bedivere replied :

aim l^(g imiQfyt^ ^ 265

''I heard the ripple washing in the ^^^^^
reeds, and the wild water lapping on the Ar/Aur
crags."

King Arthur, faint and pale, said :

"You have betrayed me. You have
acted a lie. Had you thrown the sword,
something would have happened, some
sign would have been given. Go back
now, and throw it into the lake."

Sir Bedivere went back and again
picked up Excalibur. As he looked at it
he said aloud :

''Surely, it is not right to throw away
such a precious thing. It would please
the eyes of people forever. I know it is
wrong to disobey the king. Yet he is
sick ; perhaps he does not know what he
is doing. If I keep Excalibur and store
it in a great treasure-house, people will
look at it throughout all the coming
years, and feel great reverence for the
king who fought with it."

So again Sir Bedivere hid the sword
and returned to the king, who asked : •

*' What have you seen or heard ?"

And Sir Bedivere replied :

"I heard the water lapping on the

266 ^ "Ssiim 3inwv

Deaih% ^^^S' ^^d the long ripple washing in the
Arthur reeds/*

Then the king was very angry.

*'Ah, unkind!'* he cried. ''You, too,
are a traitor. Because I am dying, I
have no authority. You refuse to obey
me, you who are the last of my knights !
Yet it is possible for a man to fail in his
duty twice, and succeed the third time.
Go now, and throw Excalibur.''

Sir Bedivere ran quickly and seized
the sword, shutting his eyes that he might
not see its beauty. He whirled it round
his head and threw it far out over the
lake. It flashed in the moonlight and
fell. But before it reached the surface
of the water, an arm, clothed in pure
white, rose and caught it, brandished it
three times, and then drew it under the
water.

When Sir Bedivere went back to
Arthur, the king knew that he had been
obeyed.

''I am dying,** he said. ''Lift me on
your back and carry me to the lake.**

Then Sir Bedivere carried the helpless
king, walking quickly through the place

ann W» ixnigfyt^ ^ 267

of tombs, and over the crags, and past ^^/^^^^r
the chasms, till he came to the smooth ArtAur
shining lake. There beside the bank
was a barge, all black. The deck was
covered with stately figures of people
clad in mourning. Among them were
three fair queens with crowns of gold —
the three queens who were to help Arthur
at his need.

They had come to take him away. Sir
Bedivere did not know where. When
they saw the wounded king, they gave
a cry of grief that seemed to rise to the
stars. Then they lifted him into the
barge. The tallest put his head on her
knees, and took off his broken helmet.
She called him by name, weeping bitterly.

Poor Sir Bedivere cried :

''Oh, my lord Arthur, you are leaving
me. Where shall I go ? The great Round
Table is broken up forever. What shall
I do?"

Then Arthur answered :

''Old customs pass and new ones
come. God makes his world better in
many ways. The Round Table did its
work and now has disappeared ; but some-

268 ^ Mm ^VtlaUV

Death^of ^^^^^2 ^^^ ^^ sutcly comc to advance the
Arthur cause of truth and justice. Pray for me
and for yourself. More things are done
by prayer than this world dreams of.
And now, farewell ! You shall never
see me again, my Bedivere. My work
is done ; yours, too. is nearly over.
Farewell ! "

Then the barge moved slowly away,
while those on board lamented. Sir Bedi-
vere watched it till it disappeared amid
the shadows over the lake. Then he rose
slowly and wandered back to Lyonnesse.

After a time he went to Camelot.
There was a new king there, who was
good, and new customs, also good. But
Sir Bedivere was too old to change his
way of life. He spent the rest of his days
in Camelot, but he lived only in the
past, dreaming of the time when King
Arthur and his knights of the Round
Table ruled in the land.

anP W^ Ifeirtgi^tg gc^

FRONOiMciNe index:

{The following index and key is used to indicate the pronunciation of

the more difficult words ^ and is based upon the latest edition

of Webster^ s International Dictionary.)

Ac'calon

Angr^us

As"* to lat

Bas: de vaW g^us

Bft^Ian

Gaheris (gft' her Ys)
€^lahad(gdl'&h&d)
€^reth (gftr' eth)
€rawain (g&' wftn)
Creraint (g« rant)

Bft'lin ffrail(gral)

Bedivere(b6d' I ver) GuineYere
Ber li cent (gwln' ^ ver)

Ben^ wick In' i ol

Bleys (bl&z) W aine (Sn)

Bdrs joust' ingr (j^st)

Bras' ti as Kay (kS)

BrI' an Lancelot (l&n' s^ Idt)

Brittany (brff § nt) Lavaine (van)
Brune Ijc od' o g^an

Cam er i ard Lf ' o nel

Camelot (k&m'« Idt) Lynette (It n^t)

Carry (kfir' ry)
Ham' as

£laine(6mD')

£nid(e'n!d)

£xcalibar

(fekskai'tbfir)
falcon (faw' kn)

Lyonnesse

(ir 6n ngs')
Lyonors (U'd nOrz')
Mial' grace
Merlin (mer' Hn)
moat (mot)
Modred (m5d' rSd)

Morgran le Fay

(mdr' gan \b HL)
nave (nav)
North gral' is
Ontz' lake
palfrey (pal' fry)
I^ellenore

(per 16 ndr)
Pen'tecdst
Perceval (p€r' sd val)
PlSno'rius
pomegranate

(pfim' grftn' ftt)
porpliyry (p6r' fl rj)
quintain (kwln' t&n)
Bi ence (-ens')
Thames (th&mz)
Torre (tor)
tournament

(tOOr' D& ment)
Tur' quaine (qufin)
Ul'fins
Vivien (vIv'Y«n)
Yg^eme (I gfim')

A GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION

as in ale
as in &dd
as in &sk
as in ftrm
as in all
as in eve
as in 6 vent'

as in Snd
as in bSr
as in ice
as in it
as in old
as in 6 bey*
as in 5dd

ft

Silent letters are if
[3691

as in 16rd
as in food
as in ff^d
as in up
as in rade
asin flv
as input

: fe(ng attl^ttr

To form an accurate setting for the story of King
Arthur is difficult because of the composite
character of the story and the great uncertain-
ties as to its nature, date, and place. A large part of
the story in the form in which it came to Malory
(whose version is for us the most acceptable) took its
shape and color probably from the work of Chretien
de Troyes, who wrote in the second half of the twelfth
century, and Robert de Barron, who wrote about the
end of the thirteenth century. It seems safe, there-
fore, to treat the story as a reflection of the life, not
of the Briton of the sixth century, but of the much
more refined society which existed in England and
France in the age of chivalry.

In constructing the setting of the Arthur stories,
then, it is advisable to put before the children scenery
no more definite than that depicted by painters and
poets. On the other hand, they should have as defi-
nite an idea as possible of the customs and manners
of the chivalric age, and of the architecture, armor,
costumes, and furnishings which were in use at this
time. One of the best books on this subject is Chiv-
alry, by Leon Gautier, translated from the French
by Henry Frith, and published by Routledge. The
book is a scholarly and concrete history of chivalry,
and is copiously illustrated. Many of the pictured

[270]

aim i^ ttniflfttg ^ 271

castles, armor, and fumiture the ctuldren can repro-
duce with the help of cardboard, plaster, chalk, and
a sand-table. Certain of the costumes, trappings, and
banners can be made in cheap fabrics. Such repro-
duction, however imperfect, will help the children to
realize the age. Other books less valuable are Batty's
Essay on tiu Spirit and Influence of Chivalry^ Bul-
finch's Age of Lhtvalry^ Chapters L-III.; Lanier's The
Boys King Arthur^ books L-IV. For sources of the
story, the teacher should consult Malory's Morte
{T Arthur^ especially the edition by Oskar Sommer.
Tennyson's Idyls of tite King is of course very valu-
able.

If possible, some of the pictures illustrating the
Arthur cycle should be secured. Mr. Edwin Abbey's
paintings of the "Quest of the Holy Grail" are repro-
duced in the rather expensive Copley prints. How-
ever, on receipt of postage, the Curtis & Cameron
Co., Pierce Building, Boston, will send a little cata-
logue of the Copley prints of the "Quest of the
Holy Grail," which contains some smaU pictures.
Other reproductions which can be ordered at any
good art store are : "The Innsbruck Arthur," a copy
of the figure of Arthur in armor, from the Innsbruck
museum ; Watts* "Sir Galahad", Rosenthal's "Burial
of Elaine "; Bume-Jcnes* " Dream of Lancelot at the
Door of the Chapel of Saint Grael," "The Quest of
the Grail," and "The Lady of Shallott"; Rossetti's
"Arthur's Tomb "and "Lancelot Escaping"; Watts'
"Merlin and Nimue" (Vivien).

The King Arthur stories as Malory has given them
to us, embody a deep and poetic message. Malory
presented them in order that they should be an
example to the people of his time. They can be of
equal moral value to the children of this day, for they
teach the best virtues of the chivalric age • gentle-
ness to the weak, loyalty to friends, mercy to foes.
The tales should help to inculcate a love of truth and
courage, should show the value of discipline, unself-

272 cs

fe(ns artl^ttt;

ishness, and courtesy, and should also develop an
appreciation of grace and beauty. Moreover, as these
stories have become our national hero cycle, they are
less alien than the myths of Greece and Rome, and
a study of them should be valuable in developing a
wholesome pride of race. In order that the children
understand the " moral " of each story, its central idea
and the particular phase of chivalric life which it
represents, they must actually live the story. The
teacher can achieve this result by asking questions to
see that the children comprehend the story, not only
what is stated but also what is suggested, by giving
construction work, as has already been advised, and
above all, by letting them dramatize the action.

For example, in preparing to teach "How Arthur
Became King," the teacher might read this material
in Malory. Then Gautier's book might be consulted,
and the following pictures noted : in Chapter XII.,
reproductions of castles and gates which the children
could easily construct ; in Chapters VII., VIII., and
XVIII., swords, shields, hauberks, knights on horse-
back in various positions ; in Chapter V., games ; in
Chapters X. and XI., costumes of ladies, tapestries,
furnishings; in Chapter XIII., the picture of the
arrival of guests ; in Chapter XL, feasting. A reading
of our story called "Arthur's Court and the Order
of the Round table" will be of value. Then, after
illustrating the narrative with pictures, and asking
questions as suggested, the teacher should have the
children dramatize such scenes as those on pages
12-14, 21-24, and 26-28. She can also help them
create for themselves the pictures on pages 12, 14,
17, 19, 20, 27, 28, which they should be asked to draw.
After the story is treated in this way, the children
will better feel the lesson it teaches : the worth of
Arthur's modesty, justice, and courtesy, the value of
the long, severe, self-forgetting training a squire
underwent before he became a knight, and the power
of religion over the men of the age.